


Ako Ship Prompts

by AimingSashimiG



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Afterglow, Bad Jokes, Bikinis, Birthday Party, Blind Date, Confessions, Dating in Secret, Deep kisses, F/F, Fantasy AU, Fighting, Fighting Games - Freeform, Fluff, Gaming, Halloween, Idol Outfits, Idols, It took a surprisingly long time for that tag to appear, Love songs, Mages, Magic girls, Mentions of teenagers having sex, Minecraft, NFO, Neo Fantasy Online, Not Beta Read, Please read the warning on chapter 22, Polyamory (but not really), Princess - Freeform, Roller Coasters, Shopping, Skyrim Crossover, Sneaky kisses, Snowboarding, Soulmates, Stalking, attempts at humor, catgirl maids, character death but not really, drumming, not to the death though, rarepair week 2020, sisterly fluff, vore but not really, zombies but not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 32,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23592976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AimingSashimiG/pseuds/AimingSashimiG
Summary: I decided to get on the prompt taking bandwagon for a little bit of inspiration. With a twist. Due to lack of Ako rarepairs, I'll be focusing on Ako related shipping prompts (of course RinAko is fine too). I'm a slow and lazy writer, so I'll just take the first five prompts with unique pairings for now. See inside for rules.Newest Chapter: TaeAkoUpdate: Taking one (1) prompt on chapter 20
Relationships: Aoba Moca/Udagawa Ako, Asahi Rokka/Toyama Kasumi, Hanazono Tae/Udagawa Ako, Hazawa Tsugumi/Udagawa Ako, Hikawa Hina/Udagawa Ako, Hikawa Sayo & Udagawa Ako, Hikawa Sayo/Udagawa Ako, Ichigaya Arisa/Udagawa Ako, Imai Lisa/Udagawa Ako, Kitazawa Hagumi/Udagawa Ako, Kurata Mashiro/Udagawa Ako, Maruyama Aya/Udagawa Ako, Matsubara Kanon/Udagawa Ako, Minato Yukina/Udagawa Ako, Mitake Ran/Udagawa Ako, Okusawa Misaki/Udagawa Ako, Seta Kaoru/Udagawa Ako, Shirasagi Chisato/Udagawa Ako, Shirokane Rinko/Udagawa Ako, Tamade Chiyu/Udagawa Ako, Toyama Asuka/Udagawa Ako, Toyama Kasumi/Udagawa Ako, Tsukishima Marina/Udagawa Ako, Tsurumaki Kokoro/Udagawa Ako, Udagawa Ako & Udagawa Tomoe, Udagawa Ako/Uehara Himari, Udagawa Ako/Ushigome Rimi, Udagawa Ako/Wakamiya Eve, Udagawa Ako/Yamabuki Saaya, Udagawa Ako/Yamato Maya, Udagawa Tomoe/Uehara Himari
Comments: 92
Kudos: 87





	1. Rules

So, about prompts I'll take:

1) please keep the rating in mind. Nothing in this will get any steamier than making out. 

2) F/F parings please

3) AkoTomo will be written as sisterly

4) I'd prefer very short prompts, like single word prompts

5) I have no clue how ABO AUs work and they make me vaguely uncomfortable so I won't be writing those

For now, I'll just take the first five responses following these rules with unique pairings. Hopefully, they will get done in a timely manner. After those five, I may or may not accept more, but it'll depend on how I'm feeling then.

Thanks, and hopefully this will be fun for all parties involved.


	2. LisaAko The Least Secret Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: LisaAko Dating in secret/Afterglow finds out  
> I wanted to write LisaAko fluff, which ended up in them being really bad at keeping their relationship a secret

It was a rare moment of peace at the convenience store Moca and Lisa worked at. Ako, who had been sent to get some milk, had decided to take the opportunity to talk to her friends.

“And that’s why Lisa-nee’s cookies are absolutely the best. Better than any other baked good in Heaven, Earth, or Hell,” said Ako, in a passionate debate with Moca.

“I’m sure that Lisa-chi’s cookies are filled with lots of love, but so is every loaf of bread from Yamabuki bakery. And not only that, it has _terroir_ , made by the same family in the same place for generations,” countered Moca, “But I’m afraid this discussion will have to wait. Even something as amazing as Yamabuki bread needs to leave your body sometimes, you know?”

“That’s gross Moca,” Lisa complained, “Just go. I’ll hold down the fort.”

Moca finished up very quickly, but when she was returning, she overheard a very interesting conversation.

“Lisa-nee, now that we’re alone, I just want to say you look as hot as hellfire today. Not that you ever don’t,” the drummer attempted to whisper. It was still loud enough for Moca to hear clearly.

“Geeze, Ako. Well, you’re as cu- cool as a cucumber. I’m really excited for our date this Friday.”

“Me too! Apparently, they have a new deep-sea exhibit to we’ll be able to see some things actually from the Abyss.”

“Deep-sea fish, huh? Yeah, I can see why you’d be excited for that. You really like spooky things, don’t you?”

“Yup! They reflect the dark powers deep within me. Anyway, I should buy this milk and get back to my family. But before I go, could you lean down for a moment, Lisa-nee?”

“What are you up to, Ako?” Lisa asked, but she leant down anyway. For her obedience, she was rewarded with a kiss.

“Ako!” Lisa playfully exclaimed, “I thought you were trying to keep our relationship on the down low. See you on Friday!”

“May our destinies once again meet!”

Neither of them had noticed Moca, who had taken a picture of what just happened. Whether she wanted to show Tomoe right away or keep it as blackmail, the bread loving girl hadn’t decided yet.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Himari was really to see the romantic comedy that had just come out in theatres. The story, about a boy and girl from rival acting troupes, seemed a little cliché, but also cliché in just the way she liked. And the lead actor had purple hair, just like Kaoru!

It had been a bit of a pity that she hadn’t been able to convince anyone in Afterglow to come with her this time, but Himari was an independent woman and she wasn’t going to let the lack of company stop her from enjoying the heck out of this movie.

As she took her seat, Himari noticed a familiar face in the audience. It was Ako. Ako, who liked romcoms even less than her Tomoe. This definitely wasn’t the sort of movie she would choose to watch. But it did kind of seem like the movie her companion and bandmate, Imai Lisa, might like. Had Ako decided to accompany her bandmate since everyone else in Roselia was busy or something? That sure was nice of her!

Himari was prevented from going over and greeting them by the lights dimming and the movie starting.

About halfway through the movie. Himari found herself bored and disappointed. The screenwriters had messed up what could have been a cliché but enjoyable movie by adding myriad plot twists like the protagonists being long lost siblings, their school being shut down, and what must have been the most boring alien invasion in cinema history. The heroine didn’t seem to know whether to play a love interest or sister, and the male lead didn’t have an ounce of the princely coolness that Kaoru did.

Curious about how Ako was finding this dreck, the bassist glanced down at her. The drummer wasn’t paying any attention to the movie, and neither was Lisa. Instead, they were cuddling and looking deep into each other’s eyes. Were they… dating?

Not that staring into someone’s eyes while cuddling with them had to be romantic, necessarily. After all, Himari did it with Tomoe all the time and that was totally platonic. The kiss Ako and Lisa had decided to share seemed much less platonic. And boy, that kiss was lasting for a while.

Ah well. It was still a better love story than the movie playing on the screen.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

It was Ran’s turn to get the groceries for her family, and so she walked through the supermarket searching for items on her list. Since this was a rare opportunity to buy the snacks she wanted, the candy isle was her next destination. As she approached the shelves filled with chocolate and cookies, she saw Ako and one of Ako’s bandmates. Lisa, if she was remembering correctly. Their shopping cart was filled with what seemed like flour, butter, and sugar.

Ran had heard from Ako that Lisa was a very good baker of cookies. Had she asked her senior for baking lessons? It was kind of funny that Sayo, who hadn’t known anyone in Afterglow at first, had decided to get them from Tsugumi while Ako had decided to ask someone from Roselia.

As she got closer, Ran could make out their conversation.

“Look Lisa-nee. Pocky!” Ako excitedly pointed out to her bandmate, “we should get some.”

“Are my cookies not good enough for you?” Lisa asked teasingly.

“Of course Lisa-nee’s cookies are super-duper great and way better than anything you could buy at a store. But I wanted to engage in the sinful trial of courage known as the Pocky Game with you.”

“You know, if you want kisses, you can just ask. But a chocolate flavored kiss with you _does_ sound very tasty. So why don’t we make some chocolate-covered cookies of our own to play the pocky game with?”

“You’re a genius Lisa-nee! Clearly worthy to be the general of my fell army.”

“Not a worthy candidate to be your dark queen?”

“The worthiest candidate for that!” Ako assured.

What had Ran overheard? Did Tomoe know about this?

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

It was a pretty normal day at the Hazawa Café. Tsugumi was helping out as usual and the number of customers was neither a lot nor a little. It was, as Ran would say, _Itsumo Doori_.

As Tsugumi cleared one of the tables, Ako walked in hand-in-hand with one of her bandmates, Lisa. She’d heard that the drummer referred to her senior as ‘Lisa-nee,’ so it was kind of cute to see them doing something sisterly.

“Tsugu-chin! Can me and Lisa-nee get a table?”

“Of course, Ako-chan. Right this way.”

Tsugumi led them to one of the empty tables, then retreated behind the corner.

Ako sure had gotten close with the Roselia girls, Tsugumi thought to herself. As the pair perused their menus, they kept their hands intertwined. Some part of the barista’s brain wondered if something more could be at play, given that Ako didn’t even do this with Tomoe, but different people showed their affection in different ways. Maybe this was just Lisa’s way.

The pair soon ordered their drinks, Ako requesting a coffee “as black as the void yet as sweet as ambrosia” (which Tsugumi usually prepared as an espresso with lots of sugar) and Lisa asking for a latte.

“Lisa-nee, while our drinks get ready, I’m going to the restroom to freshen up a bit,” said Ako.

“I see. I might as well go right now too.”

Tsugumi thought nothing of it, but when she was done making their drinks, the pair still weren’t back. As she waited, she started to wonder if she should check on them before their coffee got too cold. But they had gone to the restroom, so it was probably best to give them their privacy.

Unless, god forbid, one of them had gotten sick or hurt or something.

Worried, Tsugumi entered the restroom. But all she found was a locked stall and the sounds of kissing. Blushing, she exited the restroom just as hurriedly as she’d entered it and decided to try and forget what she’d learned.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

“Ako and Lisa? Yeah, I know about them,” said Tomoe, shocking the members of Afterglow who had gathered at Hazawa Café, “I wasn’t sure if they were trying to keep it a secret or not, but if they were, they’re awful at it.”

“They weren’t very subtle with their affection,” said Tsugumi, “But how did you find out?”

“Well, to start with, whenever Lisa comes over, Ako clings to her the entire time. Even more than she’s ever clung to me.”

“Isn’t that just you being jealous, Tomo-chin?” teased Moca.

“It would really make me uncomfortable if Ako did some of the stuff with me that she does with Lisa. But, aside from that, my sister’s lock screen picture is of her and Lisa together. And sometimes she mumbles about ‘Lisa-nee kisses’ in her sleep.”

“You’re not worried about your cute, innocent little sister being corrupted by a sexy older woman?” pushed Moca.

“Nah. Lisa treats Ako really well, actually. She even play’s along with my sister’s whole dark demon powers thing. And Lisa is, like, objectively hot so part of me kind of wants to congratulate my lil’ sis. The part of me that doesn’t was forced to confront that Ako is a growing woman recently. I don’t think there’s anything as uncomfortable as your little sister showing you how to use privacy mode on the internet.”

The rest of Afterglow gave Tomoe a moment of silence for that.

“Anyway, I just hope Ako tells me about it soon. Not that I know how I should react, though.”

“Clearly, you need to put a healthy fear of Udagawa in Lisa-chi’s heart,” suggested Moca.

“Or maybe don’t do that if you want Ako to keep telling you about her personal life,” Ran countered, “just be honest and sincere and stuff.”

Just then, Tomoe’s phone received a message.

“Me and Lisa-nee have something important to tell you tonight,” was all Ako’s message said.

“Well, whatever you want to say, you better figure it out soon,” said Moca, looking over Tomoe’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry Tomoe!” said Himari, “We’ll help you practice! One of us can be Ako and someone else can pretend to be Lisa-senpai.”

“Moca will be Ako-chin, then. This infernal prince of darkness wishes to confess something to you, meine Schwester.”

“Uh, I guess I can be Lisa-senpai?” said Tsugumi, “Um. I baked cookies?”

Tomoe wasn’t sure how helpful Afterglow would be, but she was sure that the talk with her sister would go just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this.  
> Please don't expect updates to keep up at this pace, but I'll try my best to keep going in a somewhat timely fashion.


	3. RinkoAko Asking Sayo for Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: RinkoAko  
> Prompt: ako goes to sayo for advice on how to ask rinko out  
> When I read the prompt, I missed the 'how' part, and accidentally read it as Ako going to Sayo for help confessing in general. Hopefully, It's still enjoyable anyway.

“…and so I seek your aid in sharing my deep-as-the-abyss love for Rinrin,” said Ako, who had called Sayo to meet her at Hazawa coffee.

“I see,” responded the guitarist. With how Ako acted around her best friend, it didn’t surprise Sayo that she had romantic feelings for her. One thing was a little vit of a surprise though.

“So, why come to me rather than your sister. Or Imai-san. Or Minato-san. I’m not someone known for their emotional understanding.”

“None of them have managed to get a girlfriend, and you’re dating Tsugu-chin, so I think you’re a little ahead of them in the romance department.”

That was… true actually. Even if Tsugumi had been the one to confess to Sayo.

“Also, you’re the only person I’m close with other than Rinrin who plays NFO.”

“Are you planning on an NFO-themed confession then? Like an NFO-related gift? If you need ideas, I think some of the monsters might make good plush toys, but Imai-san knows more about sewing than I do so you should ask her for help with that.”

“Not NFO-themed. Rather, I want to confess to her in NFO.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to do it in real life?”

“I get why you’d say that, but for me and Rinrin… We first met in NFO. Both of us were using the matchmaking feature for the boss Tohru the Green Dragon. The fates brought us together, and even though we’d never met each other before, we had an infernal synergy instantly. My tank-necromancer build is a bit odd, but it worked perfectly with Rinrin’s preference for high-risk slow casting time spells. So we decided to do another quest together, then another. I ended up being the first person Rinrin friended in game, even if it was a year before I first heard her angelic voice. And it was two years after that when I first met her in this world. Me and Rinrin have been best friends since forever, but in NFO we’ve been best friends for even longer.”

“I see. In that case, and NFO confession does make some amount of sense. But aren’t you and Shirokane-san already married in game? And don’t you already have the highest tier couple’s ring?”

“Yeah, but none of the in-game marriage rings are that special or hard to get. Rather, there was an armor released for a Valentine’s day event a long time ago. You make two of them at once, and if the people wearing those two armors are in the same party, they get a really big buff. And since the armor has lots of jewel slots, you can customize it for any build.”

“It sounds you know exactly what you want to do, Udagawa-san, so why do you require my help?”

“Well, I’ve already got the jewels for Rinrin’s build ready, but to get the materials for the armor, you need to fight a bunch of really hard bosses with a party of only two people. I can’t do it alone, I can’t do it with Rinrin since I want to surprise her, and there’s no way I would be able to beat these bosses consistently with randoms.”

“And so you want me to help you fight the bosses.”

“Yup! You’ve only been playing NFO for a little while but your powers of infernal darkness, well since you’re a paladin I guess your powers of celestial light, are already really strong. And to make it worth your while, I’ll buy you French fries in exchange for your aid.”

“Don’t feel obliged to give me anything, Udagawa-san. After all, you told me a lot about Hazawa-san before our first date. But, if you still want to give me fries, I will not reject them.”

“Thank you so much Sayo-senpai!” Ako exclaimed as she tackle-hugged her senior.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

It ended up taking about a week to gather the necessary materials. Ako wasn’t lying when she said the bosses were hard. Even experienced NFO players like her and Sayo would fail occasionally. And it wasn’t just a matter of defeating those bosses once. One run might grant a single scale the drummer would need ten of. But, with the help of fried potatoes, they persevered.

If Ako’s excitement was anything to go by, the ornate, rose covered armor with enough particle effects to crash some computers had been worth the trouble.

After Roselia’s practice the next day, Ako invited Rinko to an internet café. And, to Sayo’s surprise, she was invited too. The guitarist thought about giving her bandmates some privacy, but farming for that amor had been a lot of work…

The three of them set up at adjacent computers, Ako suggesting that they try fighting the new boss ‘Pink Fang The Lord of Sharks Jr.’ As they got ready for the quest, buying potions and switching armor pieces, Ako took her chance. She sent a trade request to her best friend.

“Did you need something, Ako-chan?” Rinko asked, a little puzzled.

“No. Well, yes. But probably not what you’re expecting. Uh. Could you accept the trade request, Rinrin? This will work a lot better if you have the trade window up,” Ako replied much more shyly than Sayo had ever seen her act before.

“Okay, Ako-chan.”

Into the trade window, Ako put one set of the armor she had made, locking in her trade without Rinko offering anything in return. Rinko gasped, just as one might when someone got on one knee and pulled out a black box.

“This is… the curias of Saint Yuu. With two sets of this, it can be even better than what speed runners use. And the jewels in here are perfect for me, even though you don’t play sorcerer. You even used a percentage casting time reduction rather than flat because I use spells with long casting times. This is… is it really okay for me to have this? Without giving anything in return?”

“I made it for you, Rinrin. Because you’ve already given me so much by being in my life. You’re as kind as a guardian angel, as beautiful as a succubus, and as dependable as a goddess of healing… I know we’re already married in NFO, but that’s not enough for me anymore. I can’t imagine our souls being separated in NFO, real life, or any other world. Will you be my IRL girlfriend?”

Rinko, overcome by emotion, could do nothing but wrap Ako in a tight hug. After she had recovered just a little, she exclaimed, “Of course, I will, Ako-chan!”

Sayo looked away as the new couple shared their first kiss.

New girlfriend and amor in hand, Ako and Rinko made short work of the boss and shared another kiss. As she looked away for a second time, Sayo realized something troubling.

Unless she managed to get Tsugumi into NFO, every time she played with her friends Sayo would now be third wheeling. At least she’d gotten fries.

And the happy faces of her bandmates and friends were kind of worth it, too.


	4. AsukaAko Joke Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Asuka/Ako  
> Prompt: Ako trying to make Asuka laugh  
> Warning - slightly adult joke (but if you're a teen I'm 100% sure you've heard worse)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a really long time to write, mostly because I had a really hard time figuring out a joke Asuka would laugh at. I wasn't able to come up with a very good idea, as you will see. I apologize to anyone who was waiting for this. All I can say is, I tried.

Asuka sighed as she was subjected to another inane and banal joke. How had it come to this?

Actually, Asuka knew exactly how this had happened. It was all her sister’s fault. Kasumi intruding upon her study sessions with her friend and girlfriend hadn’t been a rare occurrence since the singer had started dating Rokka. And every single time she did it, the star-loving girl wouldn’t make it more than fifteen minutes without dragging them all off task.

Rokka, bless her heart, was completely unable to say no to her girlfriend. And Ako, as much as Asuka loved her, had a chaotic energy all too similar to Kasumi’s. (Asuka sometimes wondered what had inspired her to date such an exuberant individual. Then she remembered that everyone she knew was seemingly either a moron or morosexual. At least Asuka’s moron could be inspired to sit down and study.)

Today’s disruption was a joke contest. It had started out with one person telling a joke and the other three judging it, but because Asuka hadn’t found any of the jokes funny, it soon transformed into a contest to see who could make her laugh.

It wasn’t Asuka’s fault all the jokes were so… bad. Her sister always made lame star related dad jokes (“What’s a star’s favorite candy bar? A milky way!”) Rokka stuck with the classics, but her delivery needed some work (“Um, why was six afraid of seven? Because eight, nine, ten. Oh, wait, no…”) And as much time as Asuka had spent with Ako recently, she still didn’t understand some of the drummer’s references. (“Why did the chicken cross the river Styx three times? Because it was a Cocka-THRICE!”)

Whether it was good or bad that rather than being discouraged at Asuka’s laughter, the three of them seemed to be taking it as a challenge, the swimmer hadn’t decided.

Currently, Ako had called a meeting to “combine our hypnotic powers of laughter suggestion.” They were huddled in a corner, their whispers perhaps less quiet than they intended. Asuka could make out the words ‘skit’ and ‘swimming pun,’ which made her just a little concerned. But even if this ended up being as unfunny as everything else, she considered laughing anyway so they could get back to studying.

Suddenly, they broke out of their huddle.

“Alright Asuka-chan. We have put together our abyssal intellects. Just sit back and prepare for our spell of laughter conjuration!”

Asuka wasn’t sure what the results were going to be, but she did as her girlfriend said regardless. Said girlfriend exited the room. That left Kasumi and Rokka.

Almost immediately after Asuka sat down, Kasumi grabbed her girlfriend in a hug that was less tight but somehow more creepy than usual. The singer-guitarist lightly ran one hand down Rokka’s back while the other lifted Rokka’s chin. Asuka wondered where this was going. Watching her sister molest her friend inspired lots of things, but laughter definitely wasn’t one of them.

“What a pretty and cute little girl you are. I’m going to have fun teaching you _all kinds of things_ ,” Kasumi said, making an attempt to cackle which was pretty funny in itself.

“Somebody help me!” Rokka cried out.

Suddenly, the door to Asuka’s room flew open as Ako did a flying side kick into the room.

“Halt, evil-doer, and let go of that maiden!”

Kasumi just held Rokka tighter.

“Who are you to stop me?”

“xXxAkoHimexXx, necromancer of justice and protector of innocent, pretty, cute, little girls everywhere. Now take this! Abyss Kick!”

Ako and Kasumi’s combat involved a lot of hilarity, in the sense of the fight choreography being hilariously bad. The attack names were pretty entertaining, too. A ‘Dark Shadow Fist of Darkness’ was countered by a ‘Kira Kira Doki Doki Dodge.’ A ‘Twinke Twinkle Chop’ was battered aside by a ‘Demonic Elbow of Asmodeus.’ But eventually, a ‘Knee of Hellish Judgement’ made (very gentle) contact and Asuka’s older sister flopped dramatically to the floor.

“Before I send you to Hades, why did you lay your hands on Rokka?” Ako demanded her defeated foe to tell her.

“It was all her idea, I promise!” Kasumi protested, “Lock told me she wanted to learn about the breast stroke.”

Kasumi snapped her fingers and made finger guns.

Ako snapper her fingers and made finger guns.

Rokka hesitated a little, then slowly made finger guns.

So the entire skit was just a set up for that incredibly lame pun? It was so, so dumb. Naturally, Asuka couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“We did it!” Ako exclaimed, hi-fiving Kasumi.

“Yeah, yeah, you got me,” Asuka admitted, “What, do you girls expect a reward or something?”

“If we’re getting rewards then Ako wants a kiss!” said the drummer cheerfully.

“Sure, why not.”

It’s not like Asuka didn’t enjoy kissing her girlfriend.

The swimmer didn’t have to wait long before Ako was clinging to her and their lips were connected. Asuka had used to make fun of Rokka for dating her clingy sister, but after she had started dating Ako she could see the appeal.

Speaking of clingy sisters…

“I want kisses too!” said Kasumi.

“Eww, no. Gross.”

“What do you mean? That’s not fair. Why does your girlfriend get kisses and not me? I don’t even mean lip kisses like Ako gets. Just regular cheek kisses.”

“Well, that’s a given, but it’s still gross.”

“You haven’t kissed me in years, though.”

“Yeah. Because I’m not nine anymore.”

“Boo. I’ll just kiss Lock, then.”

The poor girl barely managed to say “okay” before Kasumi was upon her peppering her with kisses. Asuka decided to turn away from them and focus on her own girlfriend. She put her head against the chest of the girl she dearly loved, strange jokes and everything.

“Wanna leave those two to each other and strengthen our soul bonds with a fell rendezvous?” suggested Ako.

“I’d really love that,” Asuka responded, “But what I’d love even more is to get our homework done.”

“A fell joint training session, then?”

“You know what, sure.”

Rokka would probably manage somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take full blame for three of the four bad jokes in this chapter. Also, despite my attempts to come up with original jokes, they're obvious enough that others may have made them before. Rokka's mangling of a classic joke is not original, but rather inspired by a story my friend told me of his younger cousin attempting to make that joke.


	5. HagumiAko Sneak Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Hagumi/Ako  
> Prompt: They sneak each other kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for this one came together pretty quickly, but it ended up pretty short. I hope it's still enjoyable to read.

Even back when Ako and Hagumi’s relationship was a secret and Tomoe was the only one who knew that they were dating, the two had always been pretty affectionate. Ako’s bandmates heading to the practice room early was a chance to give Hagumi a quick peck on the cheek before catching up. Kokoro dragging most of her bandmates of to some adventure was an opportunity for their lips to meet before Hagumi followed. Both of them took whatever openings they got to express their affection for each other.

Of course, now that their relationship was known to all of Roselia and Hello Happy World, they could be a lot more open with that affection. Ako could tag along to a sleepover at Kokoro’s house and hold her girlfriend’s hand the entire time or blow kisses when Hagumi was in the audience of a Roselia live.

That didn’t mean the end to sneaky kisses, though. Ako and Hagumi agreed that it had been pretty fun, and so they made it a game to see how much they could get away with. The lack of consequences just meant that they could be more audacious in their attempts. Hagumi would rush by Ako in a game of tag, leaving a moist cheek in her wake. Ako would snipe Hagumi’s lips with her own as soon as whoever else was in the room turned their head.

Last week, Hagumi had made a strong play in their never-officially-declared sneak-kiss competition. With Kokoro’s help, the bassist had gotten some bungee cord and a harness, then hid in a tree. When Ako was on her way back from school, she was surprised by her girlfriend falling out of said tree and giving her an upside-down kiss.

Naturally, Ako needed to do something just as surprising as sneaky. She wasn’t as athletic as her girlfriend but playing video games had taught her a lot about stealth. The drummer bought a ghillie suit off the internet and added some local foliage to match one of the bushes near Hagumi’s house. She even made sure to bring her Nintendo switch when she went to go hide in the bush, because it would be quite a while before her girlfriend passed by.

That almost proved to be the drummer’s undoing, time passing by much quicker than expected while playing Mario Kart. But luckily, she was able to react to the familiar head of orange hair just in time.

Hagumi screamed as a bush suddenly stood up and grabbed her. Even worse, the bush monster gave her a kiss even though she already had a girlfriend. But then she looked into the bush monster’s ruby-red eyes and realized something.

“Akkun, you turned into a bush monster! And my kiss didn’t turn you back to normal! Does that mean our love isn’t true love?”

“Uhh… I think you might be misunderstanding something, Hagu-chin,” said Ako, a little bewildered by her girlfriend’s understanding of the situation.

“Oh, you’re right. Maybe it’s the sort of spell that needs you to show your love for your sister to break it.”

“No, I mean I’m not a bush monster. I’m just wearing a costume.”

“Don’t worry Akkun, you don’t have to lie to me. I’ll make sure not to tell your secret to anyone! But now that I think about it, maybe Kokoron would know how to fix this, so maybe I should tell her.”

Hagumi ran off before Ako could stop her, way too fast for Ako to catch up.

The next day, Ako would be visited by a Hagumi crying in relief that she had gone back to normal, a Kokoro with a bunch of talismans and crystals, and a Misaki who had given her a _very_ understanding shoulder pat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how widely known the term "ghillie suit" is, but it's a type of clothing worn by snipers that has a bunch of vegetation looking stuff weaved into it, and makes the wearer look kind of like a swamp monster.  
> Regarding Hagumi's nickname for Ako, I think there was an official comic once that explored Hagumi's tendency to nickname 'cool' people with '-kun' and 'cute' people with '-chan.' Since Ako tends to go for a cool image (though probably all of us find her very cute), I thought that would be a better honorific for her.


	6. Tomoe&Ako Amusement Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Platonic) Ship: Tomoe&Ako  
> Prompt: Going to an amusement park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like my roller coaster otaku-ness might have gotten in the way of writing a good fic here...

It wasn’t every day you got free tickets to an amusement park, even if the amusement park was owned by one of your friends. Naturally, when Ako and Tomoe got an offer for free entrance to Michelle Land, they readily agreed. Especially since the catch was hardly a catch.

“Thank you for agreeing to provide feedback on our roller coasters Udagawa-san and Udagawa-san,” said a woman wearing a black suit and black sunglasses, “our usual associate said she needed a break from ‘exciting’ things.”

“It’s no problem at all. Me and Ako love roller coasters, so we’re really excited for this,” responded Tomoe.

“Yeah! We’re really looking forward to see what kinds of infernal designs you’ve come up with,” exclaimed Ako, jumping with energy.

“Then I hope we do not disappoint,” said the suited woman who then led them to the first ride of the day.

Ride 1 – The Michelly-Go-Round

The first roller coaster the Udagawa sisters were brought to was one made for young kids. With a train on a rail, the Michelle-Go-Round was indeed a roller coaster, but the circular track with gentle bumps promised a ride more similar to a regular Merry-Go-Round than some of the towering behemoths Ako and Tomoe were used to. The sisters boarded and were treated to a ride that could most kindly be called ‘relaxing.’

“What were your thoughts?” asked a suited woman waiting right at the end of the ride.

“I don’t think I can judge it fairly,” replied Ako, “me and onee-chan are much more used to the kinds of rides that would test the constitution of a demon. This one was more like testing the constitution of babies.”

“Yeah, as a roller coaster enthusiast I found myself wishing it was a bit more… exiting,” Tomoe admitted, “but thinking as an older sister… well, with Ako as my lil’ sis I guess I wouldn’t recommend it to her either, but I might have back when she was three years old.”

“I see,” said the suited woman, “and what did you think of the cart design and décor?”

Both Ako and Tomoe looked confused at the concept of judging a roller coaster based on anything other than how it felt to ride. The suited woman made a note.

“Well, this was the gentlest ride of the day, so hopefully from here on the rides will be more to your liking.”

Ride 2 – Michelle’s Mechanical Mouse

The ride looked unassuming enough, wind-up mouse toy themed cars going around a mostly flat track with only a few small drops. The cars went around at a pretty moderate speed, too. Once Ako and Tomoe started riding, though, their opinions quickly changed. The track had several tight turns that pushed them hard to the sides of their seats, even though they were moving pretty slowly.

“So, how was this one?” asked a suit, once again waiting at the end of the ride.

“A lot more exciting than the first one! It had the feeling of a demon picking you up and swinging you around,” Ako said cheerfully.

“It was pretty fun,” said Tomoe, “It definitely packed more of a punch than you’d think. It did make me a bit dizzy, though.”

The suited woman took more notes.

“I’m glad you two enjoyed it. Now let’s continue onto the next coaster, this park’s signature.”

Ride 3 – The Michelle Jet

The Michelle Jet was more or less a classic roller coaster, complete with a couple of loops to represent Michelle’s ears. It was the sort of ride that would aptly be describes as high-intensity, but for Ako and Tomoe, this was about their baseline.

As the pulled into the end of the ride, Ako asked her sister something she’d been wondering about for a while.

“That’s the sort of ride you’d usually hear lots of people screaming on, right? But even though that was a really fun coaster, there was no black shout welling up within me. Do you think all those people just do it on purpose, even if they aren’t scared?”

“I’m not really sure, lil’ sis. I didn’t feel the need to scream either, but if you think about someone like Himari, she seems like she wouldn’t be able to help but scream, you know?”

The sisters gave the ride a glowing review as they were helped out of their seats.

Ride 4 – The Choco Coronet

“This is our newest attraction, designed based on the winning submission to a contest we held,” the suited woman informed.

The Udagawa sisters had an idea of exactly who submitted the concept.

“I didn’t think Rimi would be into roller coasters like this,” said Tomoe.

To achieve a shape somewhat like its namesake, the Choco Coronet had a section consisting of increasingly small loops, forming a cone.

“Well, Rimi-chan’s a horror movie fan, isn’t she?” said Ako, “so it makes sense that she’d like thrilling things like this. I bet she came up with something really fun.”

After they rode it, the Udagawa sisters agreed that the ride had indeed been fun. Rather than the usual slow climb to the first drop, the roller coaster had accelerated them to near top speed right from the start.

“Rimi had the right idea with this thing!” said Tomoe to the suit.

“Yeah! And the engineers did a really good job too. Is that the last one for today?” asked Ako.

“Actually, there are two more roller coasters we’d like for you to try out,” replied the suit, “these two haven’t been released to the public yet, so we’ll be paying a lot of attention to your feedback.”

Ride 5 – Rocket Michelle

Rocket Michelle towered over everything else in the park. Ako had no idea what black magic the suits had used to conceal it until this moment. The roller coaster was fairly simple, just one tall tower and then a small bump after, but it was clearly meant to set records. Upon opening, this would become the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.

Like the Choco Coronet, this ride accelerated to top speed almost instantly. It felt like it was all over in one agonizing second.

“How was it?” asked the suited woman waiting at the ride’s exit.

“It was amazing! I bet not even tumbling through hell would feel like that, My face was turning into ooze! But, after that first drop, it did feel a bit, uh…”

“Short?” Tomoe completed for her little sister, “I think it was an amazing ride, too, and I’m really glad I got to ride it. It’s the first time I’ve rode a roller coaster that made me feel like that. But I don’t feel like I need to ride it again anytime soon. There wasn’t really much to it other than the speed and the first drop.”

“I see,” said the suit, “We’ll look into ways of expanding the ride in the future. But for now, please follow us to today’s last attraction.”

Ride 6 – Reborn in Another World as a Magical Bear

Despite the intricate harness, the ride seemed gentle enough. It was one of those hybrid attractions that combined a roller coaster with an arcade game, both Ako and Tomoe’s seats having a ‘magic wand’ tied to it. With the wands, the sisters could ‘cast spells’ and defeat the ‘enemy’ animatronics that popped up. The train left the station at a speed that gave the Udagawas ample time to rack up their high score.

“You know, this is a pretty good way to cool down,” said Tomoe.

“Yeah. Nothing is as stress relieving as using my dark powers to leave your high score in the dust!” responded Ako teasingly.

“Don’t think you’ll win this just because you play computer games!”

Despite the lack of intensity from the ride itself, the Udagawa siblings managed to fire themselves up for this ride as much as they had for the others.

And then, halfway through the oval track, they were suddenly launched at high speed. Ako desperately tried to take down any evil fairies that she could, forced to ignore many of them as she zipped by. Tomoe had given up on her score completely, instead holding the lap bar.

The train rolled into an enclosed section of track, and with a clunk the sisters felt the distinctive sensation of free fall. Finally, they had come across a ride that made them scream with terror.

With another clunk, and less of a bump than one would expect, they seemed to have connected to another track. The darkness broke as they entered a room decorated like a forest. Ako barely had the presence of mind to grab her wand and start taking down the goblin and kobold animatronics that filled the room laying siege to a village of Michelle animatronics. It was easier said than done with the twists and turns the track was taking.

Finally, a bear-fairy with a suspiciously familiar tired voice popped up congratulating them and thanking them for helping to defend the “Beary Best Woods.” The sisters were lifted back up to ground level.

As the two of them exited, Ako was filled with praise for the “drop into the Abyss” and “realistic stress level when doing magical combat.” Tomoe tried to be responsible and ask about safety issues, but she was simple assured that there had been no issues with the ride so far, and after all, hadn’t she come out of it just fine?

The elder Udagawa felt like she might have gained a bit of understanding for one Okusawa Misaki.

Bonus Ride – The Ferris Wheel

Other than being pretty big, there was really nothing special about the Ferris Wheel at Michelle Land. After the excitement of the last ride, that suited the Udagawa sisters just fine. In fact, a nice relaxing wind down ride was exactly why Tomoe had requested one last ride at the park.

Ako and Tomoe sat side by side, looking out over the rides they had ridden than day.

“Today was really fun, onee-chan. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten o hang out like this.”

“It has, hasn’t it, with you being busy with Roselia and me being busy with Afterglow. We should go on more sister trips.”

“Yeah! Next time, let’s visit a bath of hellishly-heated water.”

“A hot spring trip definitely sounds nice, in a very different way from an amusement park. Or maybe we could convince Ran and Yukina to agree to a joint live.”

“That would be fun. Or we could do what Hina-senpai convinced Sayo-san to do the other day and switch bands.”

“Somehow, I don’t think we’d be able to fool people very easily.”

Both of them hoped they’d be able to spend another day like this soon.

Then Kokoro invited them both sky diving and they got perhaps a little too much of what they wished for.


	7. requests the second

I had fun writing the first batch of stories, so I've decided to write another batch of five. The rules in the first chapter still apply, but I have a few additional notes.

1 - I'd like to write ships not included in my first set of stories, so now's the time to start thinking of pairs you've been afraid of thinking of. Bring on the AkoMarina

2 - I'll be writing the AkoSayo arcade thing in addition to the first five prompts submitted here, but from now on for consistencies sake, I'll only be taking the prompts from the first five comments

3 - I was working on a AkoRinko animal crossing related fic, and I'll probably finish that before starting on the new set of prompts

Thanks!


	8. SayoAko Tag-Team Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Sayo/Ako  
> Prompt: in arcade

Sayo and Ako sat in front of a cheering crowd. In front of them was a pair of arcade cabinets, and across from that was another pair of cabinets along with their opponents. The guitarist took a deep breath. She and her girlfriend had been preparing for this for a month. If a tag-team fighting game was a test of bonds, then there was no reason to doubt their success.

The on-screen countdown started as Sayo prepared. If she could get her opponent into the right combo, Ako would be able to finish the job. The moment she had control of her character, the guitarist jumped backwards to dodge her enemy’s punch and countered with an uppercut. Ako watched intently, ready to tag in at any moment. The couple were off to a great start.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

How had Ako and Sayo gotten involved in a fighting game tournament?

It had all started at one of their semi-regular arcades dates a few months ago. The combination of being a somewhat well-known date spot with playing video games made the arcade one of Ako’s favorite places to go with her girlfriend. And ever since she had been compelled to play NFO, Sayo’s interest in video games had been growing as well.

They were on their way to the rhythm game section, as usual, when Sayo decided to ask about something that had been on her mind for a while.

“What sort of games are in that room, Uda- Ako-chan? The crowd seems older than the one playing rhythm games.”

“Oh, those are fighting games. They’re really fun, but it takes a really long time to learn how to play them well. Do you want to give it a try, Sayo?” Ako responded excitedly.

“I’ll admit, I am a bit curious. And it isn’t bad to have a change of pace every so often. Please show me how to play, then.”

Ako led Sayo to her fighting game of choice and explained the basics to her. Sayo’s difficulties began in the character select menu, picking a half-dog character and them immediately being told that character took a lot of skill and experience to play and even after all the effort, was ‘trash tier.’ Thankfully, Ako found an alternative dog-person character for her to use and the guitarist could begin her first run of the game. She died a couple of times early on before she was used to the controls, and once again on her first try against the final boss, but overall Sayo’s first playthrough of the easy difficulty of the game went pretty smoothly.

Afterwards, Ako had hopped on the neighboring cabinet to help Sayo ‘workshop’ her character. The drummer helped her girlfriend learn about combos and punishes, and also occasionally showed off how much better she was at the game. It was getting late, so they decided to end the night with a tag-team run of hard mode (Ako ending up doing most of the work.)

When they met up at Roselia practice the next day, Sayo said she had watched some tutorial videos by top-level ‘Tama’ players and requested her girlfriend for another trip to the arcade. Ako was always happy to help Sayo get deeper into the world of video games and agreed.

One of the drummer favorite things about Sayo was her strong drive to always improve. Fighting games proved to be no different than anything else the guitarist set her mind to. Within a couple of weeks of playing every day, she had gone from struggling to beat AI enemies to one of the better players at the arcade. Ako had to work hard just to keep up and remain worthy of being her girlfriend’s “battle buddy with a bond forged in hellfire.” If Sayo was strong alone, together they were unstoppable.

One of the pairs they had beat one day had tipped them off to the tag-team tournament the arcade would be hosting. Ako had, of course, been very excited, and Sayo hadn’t minded the idea either.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Sayo was able to follow her first blow with some punches, then finally a low kick that launched her opponent in the air. The guitarist wouldn’t be able to take advantage of her foe’s state, but her girlfriend would, so she tapped Ako’s foot with her own to alert her. The drummer did her job perfectly, locking their opponent into yet another combo.

The moment their enemy could tag out, she did so. As was expected. Unfortunately, Ako blocked high as her new opponent struck low. To avoid getting into a combo herself, the drummer tagged out immediately.

Sayo was always alert for moments like these. The moment her character reappeared, she was able to get another combo going. This one was extended by Ako, too.

Their foes suffering massive amounts of damage and barely able to get in any damage themselves, it wasn’t long before Sayo and Ako emerged victorious.

“We did it sayo!” exclaimed Ako

“Yes we- mph

Sayo wasn’t able to finish her response before she was being passionately kissed in front of the large audience of video game fans. Part of her wanted to protest. She was a disciplinary committee member, after all.

The other part of her thought that Ako’s nonsense about kisses of victory in front of vanquished foes was starting to make a little more sense. If this was what Sayo got for winning the semi-final, she definitely wouldn’t allow herself to lose during the final.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was proofreading this, I realized it didn't have as much dialogue as I'd have liked. Sorry for the wait, and I hope it's enjoyable anyway. I don't have much fighting game experience, and even less with playing tag team fighting games with other people, so I apologize for any innacuracies.


	9. RimiAko Horror Movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Ako/Rimi  
> Prompt: watch scary movies  
> Trigger Warning: Vore kinda sorta not really

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the idea for this came together pretty quickly, but it was a pretty short idea.

Downstairs, the doors rattled as hordes of zombies pounded on them.

Ako couldn’t bring herself to care.

In the bed before her, Rimi lay sick. Ako couldn’t even hold her love’s hands as she wept, the bassist already turning into a choco-coronet from the neck down.

“It’ll be okay, Ako-chan,” Rimi said gently, trying to reassure her girlfriend.

“No it won’t, Rimirin! I only got this far because you were by my side. How will I live in this world beyond salvation all alone?”

“You’re Ako, necromancer of the Abyss. A couple of undead won’t keep you down. Listen, I have a, um, last request for you.”

“Anything, Rimirin.”

“When I finish turning into a choco-coronet, please eat me.”

“No way! How could I eat the one I love!”

“At that point, I won’t be the one you love, I’ll just be a coronet. It’ll be the best thing you’ve eaten since the zombie apocalypse started. Or, um, you could think of it as keeping me with you by turning me into your flesh.”

“If you say so, Rimirin,” said Ako uncertainly.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

“zzz… Goodbye, Rimirin, I love you so much… zzz… You taste so sweet and delicious… zzz… I’ll never forget your flavor… zzz… Now die, zombie scum…”

Rimi giggled. She had been watching a recently released zombie movie with her girlfriend, but it ended up being much less exciting than they had hoped. Rimi could at least analyze and appreciate the special effects, but Ako had fallen asleep pretty quickly.

Ako’s dream was actually a more entertaining Zombie story than the one playing out on the screen, but it was a nightmare (even if a slightly ridiculous one) so Rimi woke her girlfriend up with a kiss.

“Rimirin you’re… not a chocolate coronet. Did I die to the zombie horde?”

“No, Ako-chan, you just woke up.”

“Oh. Wait, does that mean I fell asleep during the movie? Sorry Rimirin.”

“That’s okay, Ako-chan. It’s… not a very good movie after all.”

“Should we watch a different movie then? Maybe one with a bit more action.”

“That would be nice. Or, you could show me a horror game you like.”

“That would be really fun! I’ll have to think of a really scary one if I want it to spook you.”

“Okay. While you’re setting it up, I’ll get some snacks.”

The choco-coronets Rimi brought ended up spooking Ako more than any horror game could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It didn't really have that much to do with horror movies, but hopefully this is fine.


	10. HinaAko Minecraft Education Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: HinaAko  
> Prompt: Playing videogames together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you are enjoying this so far and want to submit a prompt, I only got four requests this time around. So, if you want to submit a prompt, please check out chapter 7.

Ako walked to the student council room wondering what Hina needed her for. It’s not like the drummer had been involved in any trouble. Her grades were fine, too. Not the best, but still better than Yukina’s.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time Ako’s girlfriend had summoned her during school hours just to spend time together. But Hina had promptly been scolded by Tsugumi that time, and apparently by Sayo, too.

When Ako entered, Hina was sitting behind a computer.

“Oh, Ako-chan, you’re here!” exclaimed the student council president, “I know you play lots of video games, so you probably know about Minecraft, right?”

“Yup. I’ve even tried speedrunning it a bit with Rinrin.”

“Boppin’. You’ll be able to help me get started, then.”

Had Hina called her here to fool around after all?

“Um, is there a reason you’re playing Minecraft during our compulsory hours of learning, Hina-chin?”

“Well, as student council president, it’s my job to make sure this school is zappity-zap. And zappity-zap schools need zappity-zap classes. I started thinking, you have a pretty boppin’ look on your face when you play video games, so maybe we could work those into classes somehow. Minecraft has a version just for education, so it seemed perfect.”

The idea of playing video games at school did seem pretty fun, even if Ako didn’t know how learning would me mixed into it, so she readily agreed.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

While setting up the software was a little different than regular Minecraft, the couple figured it out soon enough. Now, Hina was going through the very comprehensive tutorial included in the education edition while Ako looked up information on new features.

“Ako-chan, I know you said it’s kind of complicated, but could we set up multiplayer now instead of later?”

“If you really want to, but is there any reason you want to tackle that beast of slightly complicated networking without hesitation?”

“Since it’s my first time playing Minecraft, it would be boppin’ to take a selfie with you right away.”

Ako had only recently found out about the camera, that being exclusive to the education edition, but taking a couple photo in a game with Hina was something the drummer had wanted to do for a while. The the camera itself would probably be simple enough to figure out. Dealing with the strange licensing system geared towards schools to get multiplayer working would not. But, multiplayer would have to be set up sooner or later anyway.

“Alright, Hina-chin. I think we’ll have to move to the den of computers, then. And we might need an IT person, too.”

They relocated and went about configuring the game. Hina was very insistent about the IT staff being busy, so Ako had to flex her computer knowledge. Never before had the drummer been thankful for all the long nights she had spent troubleshooting her computer at home because no one else in her family could help her. Without that experience, there was no way Ako’s character would be standing besides Hina’s right now.

“Well, we did it- err, I mean- we have expanded the world beyond ours beyond single player. Shall we record our victory?”

“Yeah! Let’s see if we can pose like we’re kissing.”

With a little trial and error, the were able to take the picture, and Ako would return to class. So she had thought, but Hina had other plans.

“Alright, now let’s figure out how to make a boppin’ lesson using this.”

“Isn’t that what the teachers are supposed to do?”

“I mean, they don’t really play video games, so I don’t know if they’ll be able to come up with the zappity-zappingest of suggestions.”

“I’m sure they’ll be able to figure something out, but I see your point a little.”

“So, got any zappity-zappin’ ideas then, Ako-chan?”

“Uhh… well, maybe we could make some historical building for people to walk around in? Like the pyramids or something. When I heard about what those were like on the inside, I felt a dark desire to explore one.”

“Yeah, yeah, and then we can add zombies and stuff so it’s extra suspenseful.”

Ako didn’t really think the zombies would add historical accuracy, but she was always down to raise the dead.

“Let’s do it, Hina-chin!”

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Even with Hina finding a to-scale map of the Great Pyramids surprisingly quickly, it took the couple the rest of the school day to actually put their virtual version together. Tsugumi found them exploring the zombie infested chambers together.

“Have you two just been fooling around all day,” said Tsugumi in a gentle yet disappointed voice, “You have to focus on your studies, Ako-chan, even if Hina-senpai is trying to distract you.”

“But we actually did something productive today, Tsugu-senpai,” Ako protested, “Me and Hina-chin were getting Minecraft Education Edition set up.”

Tsugumi’s attention shifted to Hina.

“Oh, I see. Hina-senpai did push the school to try that out. In fact, the IT staff were supposed to set it up this weekend.”

“And Ako-chan managed to do it early! Isn’t she boppin’?” replied Hina.

“Yes, she is, which is why I want the best for her. Such as getting a good education. Right, Hina-senpai?”

“Yup, totes. That’s why I trusted this project to her. So she could get real-world experience that she couldn’t get in a traditional classroom environment.”

“Buzzwords from an education magazine you read on a whim aren’t going to save you,” said Tsugumi, who by this point had been dealing with the mischievous student council president for nearly a year, “Ako, you should probably go see Tomoe. She’s been worried about you being out of class all day.”

“Okay, Tsugu-senpai. Um, can I give Hina-chin a goodbye kiss.”

“Yeah. I’ll wait outside so you can give Hina-senpai her last kiss in private.”

Hina gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good fanfiction writers: The important thing about characters playing video games is not the games themselves but the character interactions.  
> Me, a gamer: Watches multiple videos on Minecraft education edition to find details no one cares about.
> 
> Also, Tsugumi is a little OOC in this, but I'd like to think she gets better at dealing with Hina as time goes by.


	11. YukinaAko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Yukina/Ako  
> Prompt: snowboarding

Ako was having a great first day of Roselia training camp. It sure had been nice of Kokoro to let them use her villa in the mountains for this. Yukina and Sayo were a bit more hesitant about it, their fears well founded since music practice had quickly been replaced by Winter sports practice. Even Sayo hadn’t protested too much before going off to ski with Lisa and Rinko, though.

And Yukina had decided to join her girlfriend and try out snowboarding.

It had been something the drummer had wanted to try for a while. Skaters and snowboarders just seemed so cool, and as of the last trip Afterglow had taken together, her onee-chan had joined their ranks.

Ako felt like it was going pretty well. The drummer had progressed from learning to fall properly to not falling, snowboarding confidently. She felt like she’d conquered the slope behind her. It was time for bigger, better, and taller things!

Yukina was… not quite as ready. She sat panting at the base of the slope. At least she hadn’t fallen down this time.

“I finally made it down the mountain without falling. That means we’ve won or whatever, right? Is it time to go back to the villa to practice now?” asked the tired and already done with snowboarding singer.

“That was just the bunny slope, though? I mean, you can head back now, Yuki-nyan, but I wanted to go up the ski lift and try one of the real slopes.”

“You want to go up the mountain? Just to come down again? Besides, isn’t that just for professionals? It seems very dangerous.”

“Nah, pros do much harder stuff. They’d be able to navigate through a frozen over hell. These slopes are for everyone – the others are up there right now, I bet.”

“I see. I will come with you then.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying here a bit longer so you can get better at- so you can empower your powers of Winter-related agility.”

“No, I’m sure it will be fine. Let’s go.”

And so up they went. Not all the way to the top of the mountain, but to the top of one of the slopes meant for beginners.

Yukina fell down trying to exit the ski lift. Luckily, Ako was there to help her up. They quickly got out of the way of the lift and skiers departing in, sitting down on the snow.

“You can see the city from here!” exclaimed Ako, “It’s super cool. Like we’re in the heavens, looking down upon the Earth.”

“Indeed. And soon it will be like we are hurtling from the heavens, banished to the Earth for our sin of pride.”

“That sounds really cool, Yuki-nyan. I bet you could use it for song lyrics or something. Now, shall we fall from grace together?”

“I suppose there’s no use delaying it.”

They stood up, pointed their boards down the slope, and took off.

Ako was having the time of her life. This was a lot steeper than the bunny slope, so she was going the fastest she had all day. Despite the speed, the drummer managed to carve side to side across the slope, bursts of speed tempered by more relaxed stretches going mostly sideways.

Yukina wasn’t doing that. She just kept her board pointing straight down the mountain, building up more and more speed.

Seeing her girlfriend going uncontrollably fast, Ako did her best to keep up with her. Her carving became narrower, and her speed was starting to get a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t fast enough to keep up with Yukina, but it was fast enough to get to where the singer had tripped, fallen, and tumbled in a timely manner.

“Yuki-nyan, are you okay?” Ako shouted as she helped her up.

“I think so. Unless you’ve actually become a necromancer and raised me from the dead.”

So maybe Yukina wasn’t that okay. But the biggest issue was the decent amount of slope remaining between them and flat ground.

“Um, I know you just fell down, but are you okay to start skiing again,” asked Ako, voice full of concern, “Or I can try calling the rescue services for salvation.”

“I’ll be alright. We’re already halfway down, so I should only fall one more time from this point.”

“Or maybe you could try not falling?” suggested Ako.

“I do not understand how to achieve such a feat.”

“Well, uh, maybe you can channel the spirit of the tortoise and move slowly but steadily? You see how everyone else is going from one side of the slope to the other? That’ll slow you down.”

“Perhaps. Or maybe I could channel the spirit of the cat so even if I do fall, I can land the right way up.”

“…Maybe you should leave that to actual cats.”

After a little time to gather themselves, the couple once again started down the slope. Ako kept a much more watchful eye on Yukina this time. Thankfully, it wasn’t necessary. The singer took her girlfriend’s advice and managed to make it the rest of the way without incident.

Finally at the base of the slope, Yukina leant on Ako.

“Do you want to go back to the villa now, Yuki-nyan?”

“I don’t mind staying outside a bit longer, if that is what you wish. The rest of our band hasn’t returned yet, so we can’t practice anyway.”

“Don’t worry about me! I’ll have the rest of the week to grind my snowboarding stat up.”

“…I was under the impression that this was a distraction we would indulge in today only.”

“That’s just what Lisa-nee told you and Sayo-san since you two are too strict.”

“So I’ve been betrayed by both my love and my closest friend. How foul. I suppose I would like to return, then.”

“Do you mind if we get some hot cocoa on the way back? We can drink it while cuddling and warm ourselves up.”

“That sounds pleasant. Perhaps we could also get some candy.”

“Did you get an idea for a new song?” Ako asked enthusiastically, “Or do you just want a sweet snack? I guess you deserve one, since this is the most exercise I’ve seen you do ever.”

After a quick stop at the ski resort’s store, the couple made their way back to the villa. It didn’t take them long to finish their hot chocolate. Afterward, Yukina arranged the candy she had bought around her bed and then lied down in her songwriting pose.

Recently, a not infrequent addition to that pose was Ako wrapping around Yukina like a koala. The drummer rested her head on her girlfriend’s chest, listening to the lyrics she mumbled.

“It was not my love who buried me in the snow,

But it might as well have been.

For she took me to the mountain where the cold winds did blow,

And my face felt like it was stabbed by a pin…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this took. Unfortunately, since my country has decided to relax it's coronavirus measures (it's not the USA, if you're curious) this sort of update schedule might become more the norm. Hopefully the fic is enjoyable. The next one is the AkoMarina one, which might take some extra time due to difficulty of finding Marina related material.


	12. MarinaAko Love Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Marina/Ako  
> Prompt: one of them trying to put their feeling into words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this fic, Ako is an adult.

Roselia was gathered backstage at Circle, having a little pep talk before their live.

The band had played plenty of lives at Circle before, and for the most part, this one would be no different. It wasn’t being to be completely _Itsumo doori_ , though. There would be a surprise, one that Ako had been practicing for.

Ako being the lead singer for a song would be enough of a surprise for most Roselia fans, but a certain live house owner would be getting an even bigger surprise today.

“You’ve got this, Ako,” said Lisa encouragingly, patting the drummer’s back, “Everyone who knows you thinks you’re an amazing girl, and the song you chose got the Yukina seal of approval. There’s not way Marina will be able to resist it.”

“Yes Ako-chan. There’s no way she won’t love it,” Rinko said gently.

“Thanks Lisa-nee, Rinrin. I’m not that sure though. After all, Marina is a lot older than me…”

“Since you are an adult, I don’t see it as a big issue. While it is often true that people with different ages have difficulty connecting, you spend a lot of time with Tsukishima-san already, Udagawa-san,” reassured Sayo.”

“Let’s go,” said Yukina, “There’s no need to overthink this, Ako. Just devote yourself to your singing and I’m sure she’ll devote herself to you.”

“Thanks guys. Alright, let’s do this!”

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

It had all started when Ako had caught Marina practicing guitar all day. The live house owner’s playing wasn’t nearly as precise as Sayo’s, but the sight of Marina banging her head while playing metal riffs was something the drummer couldn’t get out of her mind.

Naturally, Ako didn’t waste any time before exclaiming how cool Marina was. The older woman had been a bit embarrassed and had at first refused the drummer requests to play together sometime. Ako was persistent, though, and eventually Marina gave in.

And so the two had their first ‘jam sessions of shadowy bonding.’ And since Marina was grateful to Ako for the chance to play music with someone else for the first time in years, she invited the younger girl out to dinner afterwards. The next week, it was Ako who asked Marina out.

Over what ended up being weekly jam-session-slash-platonic-dates, Ako learned a lot about Marina. About her old band in high school. About her favorite metal bands. About the struggles of running a live house. She even learned that Marina had gone through a chuunibyou phase herself back in the day.

Soon, spending time with the live house owner talking about metal bands and Satanist mythology had become one of Ako’s favorite parts of the week, and she wanted more. So, Ako had decided to take a risk and confess her growing feelings for Marina. After asking her friends for advice, she decided to sing a love song.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

“Thanks for your devotion at our lives,” Yukina said to the audience, “We will be playing one more song tonight. I’m sure you’ll all find our finale a small surprise. One of you might even find it to be a big surprise. I hope it will be a good one.”

Ako took a deep breath. This was it. She walked to Yukina’s microphone at the front of the stage while her older sister walked out from backstage to the drum kit.

The song started with Tomoe playing a slow drum riff as Rinko came in with a synth melody.

Ako looked straight at Marina and began to sing.

“[We're no strangers to love, you know the rules and so do I…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPUVstUH22k)”

Ever since Ako had seen the video and read a translation of the lyrics, she knew this song was the one. Despite being young, Ako wanted to make sure Marina knew that her heart wasn’t fickle, that she would treat her right. She was thankful that Moca had shown her this masterpiece of romance.

“Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you…”

Even as she imitated the masterfully subtle dance of Rick Astley and shuffled around the stage, Ako made sure to keep her eyes focused directly on Marina’s. She didn’t want her crush to doubt who this song was for even a little.

After Ako was done singing her passions out and stepped back from the mike, she was met with applause. The song was pretty different than the sort of music Roselia usually did, and it was Ako’s first time singing lead too. In English, no less. The drummer thought it had gone pretty well, even if some of the older audience seemed a bit confused for some reason.

But, whatever the rest of the audience thought didn’t matter. There was only one person whose response Ako really cared about: Marina’s.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

Marina had been having a pretty surreal night. Someone singing ‘Never Going to Give You Up’ unironically would have been strange enough. But for someone to sing it to her? And for that person to be the drummer of a famous band? The live house owner almost wished she could pretend that Ako’s affections were directed to someone else, but the drummer had made it clear after the show that the song was a confession.

Where should Marina even start?

Her first instinct was to think logically. On the one hand, getting into a relationship with a celebrity like Ako could cause a scandal that destroyed both of their careers. On the other, if Marina refused the drummer, would Roselia ever play at Circle again?

She got those thoughts out of her mind as soon as they entered. Unique choice of song or not, Ako had been incredibly brave to confess. She didn’t deserve to have her feelings treated like a business decision. Marina needed to think about how she actually felt about Ako.

Well, she liked Ako a lot. It wasn’t a very hard conclusion to come to. But that like had so far been very much in a not romantic way. But as Marina reflected on all the jam sessions and dinners they’d shared, she decided that it would be very easy to see the drummer in a romantic sense.

And besides, Ako had promised she wouldn’t give her up or let her down, and even with all her eccentricities, she was a woman of her word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People who can write decently: You can't take two weeks to write something then replace anything of substance with ancient dead memes!  
> Me: ha ha rickroll machine go Never Gonna Give You Up


	13. ChisatoAko At least it wasn't the paparazzi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Chisato/Ako  
> Prompt: Afterglow and Roselia didn't believe they were dating and Ako told them they just laughed. When they found out, well things got hectic.  
> I just realized I forgot to put Roselia in this fic. It's too late now. F.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between work and summer heat, this took me a long time to write and type up. At least it's longer than usual.

It had been a pretty same-as-always day for Tomoe. A same-as-always practice followed by a same-as-always walk back home accompanied by some same-as-always humming.

But as Tomoe’s house moved into sight, so did a very much not-same-as-always sight. Child movie-star Chisato Shirasagi was kissing none other than Ako, her own little sister.

Really, Tomoe had no one to blame other than herself for this. Ako had told her that she’d been dating Chisato months back. The elder Udagawa had thought it was just the combination of a celebrity crush, wishful thinking, and a misunderstanding of platonic affection for romantic. And due to Tomoe’s lack of belief and complacency, her sister’s innocence was being violated by an experienced member of the entertainment industry (never mind that Ako had become a somewhat experienced member of the entertainment industry herself.)

Tomoe ducked behind a tree and called Moca. She was awful, and an agent of chaos, but also unquestionably effective. That was a skill set the drummer would need to do something about this travesty.

“Hmm, Tomo-chin? Calling lil’ old Moca right after practice? Well, I can’t blame you. Moca is irresistible after all.”

“This is no time for jokes Moca. I messed up as a big sister and let someone do unthinkable things to Ako. I need your help to… take them out of the picture.”

“Well, that’s, uh… well, why don’t you explain in a bit more detail and then Afterglow can help you figure out something to do together.”

Afterglow met up at Hazawa coffee to discuss the situation.

Upon finding out what the emergency was, Tsugumi convinced the rest of the band to take a more measured approach than hiring a hitman. She couldn’t keep them from deciding to stalk Ako and Chisato on one of their dates though. The elder Tomoe hopes that Tsugumi was right and she was just being paranoid, but she also had a camera ready to capture evidence of whatever degeneracy Chisato forced upon her poor, innocent little sister.

Ako had no idea about any of this as she waited at the train station. When Chisato got off her train, the drummer moved with all the speed she could manage. The actress was glomped the moment she got out of the ticket gate.

“You need to be more careful, Ako-chan. It wouldn’t be good if the paparazzi found out about us.”

“But the paparazzi did find out about us that one time, and they said we were just friends. Anyway, are you ready to visit a world more fantastical and virtual than ours, my queen?”

“Surprisingly, yes. After dealing with that idiot director all day today, killing monsters in a VR game seems like it would be relaxing.”

“Oh, that sounds like it sucks. If you need any help dealing with her, let me know. I could probably get Roselia and Afterglow together to teach her a lesson. For now, I’ll help you make a really strong character!”

The couple walked to the arcade, which was holding a VR event this week. The line was long, but since Ako was a top ranking NFO player and this was an NFO VR demo, she was able to skip ahead. Afterglow, meanwhile, was left behind.

“Well, at least they won’t be able to see us now,” said Ran, “But we can’t see what they’re doing in the game either.”

“We’ll just have to follow them into the game, then,” Tomoe said with determination.

It was easier said than done with the long line, though. But eventually, they reached the front of the line, payed the fee, and got their headsets. Trying to get into the game as quickly as possible, they settled for default characters who thankfully looked nothing like their real selves. But then they hit their first major roadblock. Selecting classes and skills. None of Afterglow, not even Tomoe, knew very much about NFO so they picked mostly at random. After what felt like an eternity, they were finally in the game.

And then Himari’s screen was almost instantly filled with a big red warning.

“What’s going on? Wait, is that… Oh god! It’s a giant centipede!”

“I’ve got you Himari,” said Tomoe. The drummer ran towards the big bug, attempting to clobber it. Unfortunately, since she was playing a wizard, she shot a fireball that not only hit the centipede, but also Himari, and a bunch of other monsters. Monsters that were now determined to eliminate the threat.

While Afterglow attempted to deal with an ever-increasing number of bugs and slimes, a certain necromancer was helping her girlfriend fight a much more manageable lot of monsters.

“You’re taking to this really well, my queen. I’m honestly kinda surprised, since I thought your shadowy powers of disguise and deception would have been better for a rogue,” Ako said to her barbarian girlfriend.

“Perhaps on any other day. But right now, there’s nothing I want more that to smash in the face of scum up close and personal.”

“…That director really made you mad, didn’t she?”

“She did. But enough about her; How has your day been, Ako?”

“Really good, actually! I did a raid in the morning with Rinrin and Sayo-san that went really well. I also got the last of the rare materials I needed to make the armor I want. And now, I’m on a date with you!”

“So basically, you’ve been playing video games all day. Well, that does sound like your idea of a good day, though.”

“No, what we’re doing right now isn’t playing video games, it’s exercise,” Ako protested light heartedly.

Given all the movement NFO VR required, the wasn’t completely wrong. After some more monster slaying, including a low-level boss, the couple decided to get dinner.

Afterglow just barely managed to notice them leaving, and only because they had died and were waiting to respawn. They left the arcade as quickly as they could, barely managing to catch up to Ako and Chisato.

Following the couple was a bit of a challenge. The zig-zagging route the couple took through narrow streets and alleys seemed like it was a purposeful way to get rid of Afterglow. Considering that Chisato had probably dealt with quite a lot of paparazzi, it wasn’t unreasonable. But the band managed to keep the couple in their sights, fueled by big-sister-worrying-energy. Suddenly, they emerged from a dingy alleyway into a rich and fancy part of the city. The building that Ako and Chisato went into was fancy enough to have a receptionist outside.

Said receptionist stopped afterglow as they approached.

“Hello, and welcome to Die Wildexpertin. What name is your reservation under.”

“Uh. We were hoping for a walk-in table,” Tomoe answered.

“Oh, I… see,” replied the receptionist, “Unfortunately, we’re usually fully booked, and right now is no exception. If you want, we do have some openings next week.”

“Thanks for the offer, but we’re not sure about our plans for next week. We’ll be sure to make a reservation the next time we come,” said Ran.

Afterglow made a tactical retreat. Going back into one of the alley ways, but still keeping an eye on the restaurant they were denied entry to, they planned what to do next.

“You know Ran, Moca thinks you gave up too easily. You should have demanded on your right to wait for a table,” said Moca.

“No, I think that Ran did the right thing,” said Tsugumi, “It’s always a problem when people come to the café when it’s full and ask to wait for a table. I don’t want to tell them to leave, but sometimes no space will open up for them the whole day.”

“Well, what’s done is done. What’s important is making sure we catch my sister and her… girlfriend when they leave,” said Tomoe

“Yup. But they just got in, so they’ll probably be in there for a while. While we’re in Ginza, why don’t we do some window shopping?” suggested Himari.

So Afterglow decided to split up, Himari, Moca, and Tsugumi exploring the trendy shops while Tomoe and Ran kept watch.

Meanwhile, inside the restaurant, Ako was taking in the surprisingly rustic atmosphere. Dim lighting and candles cast a warm glow on the rough wood-and-iron tables and benches. The wall was rough, bumpy, and imperfect. It was also no doubt much more expensive than the uniform walls of most restaurants. Iron objects and dried herbs hung on the walls.

“This place is amazing!” Ako exclaimed as she sat down, “it’s like the tavern in NFO, but in real life.”

“I thought you’d like it,” Chisato said, “It’s definitely not the sort of place I expected the director to take us to. It turns out that this place is famous for beer and she just wanted to get drunk… but even her boorishness couldn’t distract me from how good the food is here.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a menu with so many different types of sausages… ooh, feuerwurst. A sausage flavored with the fires of hell. Perfect for a dark mage such as I.”

“This restaurant has a lot of German specialties”

“I should tell Yukina-san about this place.”

“She’s the one who you learned a bit of German from, right?”

“Yup! Anyway, you’ve been really busy these days, right? It’s really cool that you can get good grades in school and act in movies and be in Pasu*Pare all at the same time. Are you making sure to get some rest and relaxation in, though?”

“Probably less than I should be, nothing new. But even since I started dating you, the time we spend together has been very healing.”

“Hmm… if that’s the case, I have a great idea! Let’s hold hands, and I’ll channel my dark shadow energy into you. And, um, later, when we’re in private, maybe I could channel my shadow energy to you with a kiss.”

Chisato giggled.

“That sounds great, Ako.”

They held hands until their food arrived, then once again after they were done eating. It was in that hands-connected state that Tomoe saw them leaving the restaurant.

“What is Chisato doing with my little sister!? I can’t accept something so shameless. How dare she?”

“But they’re just holding hands?” Ran said, a little confused, “We’ve been doing that since we were, like, ten.”

“Yeah, and think about the kinds of things we do now. Handholding is a gateway to perversion and sin, and I won’t let my little sister be corrupted like this.”

And so, Afterglow reassembled, this time following Ako and Chisato to a large and well-forested park. The couple ignored the walking path, instead using the trees as cover. It wasn’t easy for Afterglow to follow them. The band couldn’t let the couple get too far, or it would be impossible to find them again with all the foliage. They couldn’t get too close, either, since Chisato kept glancing behind her to make sure she was alone with Ako.

But eventually, deep in the sea of trees, the couple came to a stop. They embraced each other, Ako radiantly beaming while Chisato had a calm but sincere smile. Their lips met in a chaste kiss.

Not chaste enough for Tomoe, though, who jumped out of the bush she was hiding in.

“What are you doing to my sister!” the elder Udagawa yelled.

Ako and Chisato separated in shock, but Chisato soon schooled her face into a smile. Not a gentle, genuine one like the smile she had given her girlfriend. This was the sort of smile that promised suffering to those who received it.

“Oh, Tomoe. What a _pleasant_ surprise. You know, Ako is always telling me about how she looks up to you. It means so much to me that you told Ako that you approve of our relationship.”

Tomoe froze, the tirade she was about to release deflated. She couldn’t let her little sister know that she hadn’t believed her and lied.

“Well, uh, even if I’m okay with you dating my little sister, that doesn’t mean I’m okay with her doing adult stuff like kissing. I just don’t want my pure, innocent Ako to be corrupted by stuff like that.”

“But sis, you’ve been kissing Afterglow since forever. And there was this one time Ran-chan and Hii-chan were over. You were all in your room moaning, so I got worried that you were sick or something, but it turned out that you were doing… super dirty stuff. And that was last year, when you were as old as I am now, so you should be fine if me and Chisato do, um, more sinful things than we actually do.”

Overcome by shame, Tomoe couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Ran, however, did.

Jumping out from her own hiding spot behind a tree, the singer exclaimed, “You totally misunderstood what you saw then! It was, uh… biology studies. We were just reviewing anatomy and stuff for an exam.”

“I’m taking both bio and sex-ed right now,” Ako replied, “and neither of those classes have anything with hands-on anatomy in them. I’m pretty sure it would be super-illegal if they did.”

“Yeah Ran, stop trying to distract us from the real issue here. Why were you having sex with Tomo-chin and Hii-chan without me and Tsugu being there?” asked Moca, also emerging from the forest.

“Um, I think it may have happened the time you decided to take just me on a date,” replied Tsugumi, trying to diffuse the situation.

“Doesn’t matter, clearly you three owe Tsugu and I some pleasure to make up for what you cruelly and unjustly kept from us,” said Moca

“Don’t say that kind of thing in from of Ako!” Tomoe yelled, “Why couldn’t you wait till we were alone to start this? It’s not like I can do what you want outside anyway.”

“Why not? The only thing stopping you is shame,” protested Moca.

“Well, why don’t you girls spend some time figuring all that out. It was nice to unexpectedly run into you all, but Ako and I will be continuing our date now.”

Chisato grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and took off running through the trees.

Ran tried to pursue, but between Tomoe breaking down over what her sister and seen and heard, and Moca demanding ‘justice,’ she wasn’t able to get far.

It was a while after Ran gave up pursuing that Chisato was satisfied that they’d lost their pursuers. She stopped with Ako in an alley way. The actress was panting, but she didn’t hesitate to give her girlfriend a kiss. 

“Sorry about that, Ako. You’ll probably have to deal with your sister when you get back home. Maybe it would have been better to talk with her back there.”

“Nah. With Moca around, it would be impossible to properly bear our souls anyway. I am annoyed onee-chan followed us on one of our dates though. I thought she trusted me.”

“She’s just worried about you, like big sisters tend to be. If my little sister was dating someone, I’d be a bit wary too. I’m sure even Aya would threaten anyone who dared to see her sister in a romantic light… or maybe not. She seems like she’d be kind of bad at it. Anyway, I’ll help you think of something to tell Tomoe-san, but since we can’t relax at a park, do you want to visit an art gallery? I’m pretty sure there’s a surrealism exhibit somewhere around here.”

“Surrealism; the mysterious darkness of dreams made concrete. You know me so well my queen. Let’s go!”

And so Ako and Chisato walked off into the sunset, leaving Afterglow’s interference in their date behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably taking a break for a little bit. There's a love live fanfiction I wrote that I need to type and post, and I also want to write some RinAko since it's been a while since we've gotten one.


	14. Prompts are open again

I'm accepting prompts again. I'll take the first 5 comments that are posted to this chapter. As before, I would prefer ships that I haven't done yet. Also, I don't really understand ABO so I would prefer not to work on those prompts. I also won't do anything explicit.

If you have some completely bizzare Ako ship you want to see as a fanfic, now is your chance.


	15. RanAko Tomoe walks in on them kissing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: RanAko  
> Prompt: Ako and Ran are kissing and then Tomoe walks in on them.
> 
> (edited due to typo, it said RanTomoe before. This isn't a Ran x Tomoe fic, it's Ran x Ako)

Murphy’s law was really a bitch sometimes. After years of dancing around it, Tomoe and Himari had finally become girlfriends. The drummer had been looking forward to tonight, the night of their first date, for a very long time.

And of course, it was on this most important night, of all nights, that Tomoe would forget her train pass. She grumbled as she went back to her home. Unfortunately, her mood was about to get even worse.

On her way to her room, Tomoe saw Ako and Ran playing video games together. That was about what she had expected when she had asked her friend to take care of her little sister. What she did not expect was for said little sister to give Ran a kiss right as the screen displayed a message of victory.

The more Tomoe saw, the worse it got. Ako’s kiss was going on for a pretty long time, and movements of her jaw implied that it wasn’t a very chaste kiss either. And Ran didn’t seem the least bit surprised about it. She responded to Ako’s actions as if they were _itsumo doori._ This was unforgivable.

Tomoe sent Himari a text to inform her of her family emergency, then said in a low and angry voice, “What are you doing with my little sister?”

Ran scrambled away from Ako, while the younger Udagawa laughed nervously.

“Uh, welcome home, onee-chan. Weren’t you supposed to be on a date with Hi-chan?”

“I forgot my train pass. But anyway, go to your room Ako. I have something to discuss with my _friend_.”

The way Tomoe said it made it seem like she didn’t have many friendly feelings towards Ran at the moment. Ako responded my stepping in between her big sister and her love.

“No way, onee-chan. The look on your face is like a window to the dark energy of hell right now. I won’t let you hurt my girlfriend even if you are my super-cool big sister.”

“That’s alright, Ako,” said Ran, “I knew that this day was coming since I agreed to date you. I don’t want to be someone who drives a wedge between you and your sister. I can handle this on my own.”

Learning that her innocent little sister had been dating her close friend and both of them had kept it a secret was only making Tomoe madder.

“You two have been dating? For how long?” Tomoe demanded to know, “Since when have you been corrupting my little sister, Ran? Whenever I entrusted her to you, was that just an excuse so you could –

“I was the one who confessed, onee-chan!” Ako interrupted, “It was after I watched one of Afterglow’s concerts. Ran was so cool that day. She’s so cool every day. I couldn’t hold in my feelings any longer, so I asked her out. And she made me wait until I was in high school before she accepted, so you don’t have to worry about her corrupting me or anything.”

That made Tomoe feel a little better, but not much.

“And what about you, Ran? What made you decide to date my baby sis?”

Tomoe wanted – needed – to understand.

“Well, first of all, even you call you little sister cute, so she has that going for her. And she’s an excellent drummer who works really hard to always keep improving herself. But even more that, Ako’s really supportive and positive, you know? It’s nice to have someone call you the coolest person in the world whenever you see them. At first, I was worried about disappointing her and though I had to act a certain way, but Ako even calls my flower arrangements cool. She brightens my life.”

During Ran’s speech, the couple’s hands had drifted together.

“Alright. And what do you like about Ran, Ako?” Tomoe asked.

“Well, at first my crush started because Ran is cool and pretty and hot, like a succubus with the voice of a siren, but there’s a lot more to it now. She’s really nice to me. Like, even though she doesn’t play video games much, she’s always willing to listen to me talking about them and even play them with me. And when I’m tired, she’ll sing me lullabies.”

Ako left out the part about Ran being a very good kisser. She had a feeling that her sister wouldn’t appreciate learning about that very much.

“Well. Alright, I guess,” Tomoe said finally, more calmly but very uncertainly, “But I’m still not happy about you two keeping this a secret from me. Also, for the time being, kissing is forbidden since Ako is too young.”

“But onee-chan, you’ve been kissing Hi-chan even since you two started dating,” Ako protested.

“Well, Himari and I are still older than you. I would feel a lot better if you waited another year before you start dating,” Tomoe replied.

“You and Himari would have been dating a lot earlier of you two weren’t in denial and bothered being honest about your feelings.”

“Like you’re one to talk about being honest. If it wasn’t for Himari and Tsugu, you’d still –

Suddenly, the door to the Udagawa residence burst open.

“Tomoeeee! I came here as soon as I saw your text! What’s wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?”

It was a very worried Himari.

Ako and Ran stayed silent, forcing Tomoe to find a way to appropriately convey her panic.

“Well. It turns out that Ako was dating someone. And that someone was Ran, of all people. Can you believe it?”

“Is that really an emergency?” Himari asked.

“Well, I gotta keep my sister safe, you know?” Tomoe answered.

“In that case, isn’t better that she’s dating Ran rather than some stranger? Let’s just go on our date. Or actually, since you two are dating too, why don’t we make this a double date!”

Both Tomoe and Ran really didn’t want to have a double date with each other right now. Both Tomoe and Ran also know that arguing with Himari was futile. Ako wasn’t opposed in the first place, so the four walked out into the sunset. The warm, pink sky told them that everything would be just fine.

As long as Ako and Ran managed to keep their kisses away from the now overly watchful eyes of Tomoe, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually prefer to write a Tomoe that's supportive of her sister's relationships, despite the way these prompts are turning out. Still, I don't think she'd take one of her closest friends dating her little sister and keeping it a secret particularly well.
> 
> Also, there I'm still accepting 2 more prompt requests, so if you have any, please post them on chapter 14. If I don't get any more, I'll switch to a random number generator or something.


	16. EveAko Warrior of Justice vs Mage of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Eve/Ako  
> Prompt: Bushido vs power of darkness

The sun shone brightly, lighting up a blue sky. A gentle breeze blew, shaking the grass. The field was peaceful.

It wouldn’t stay that way.

“Kukuku… it seems that fate has once again brought us together Valiant Samurai of Justice Magical Bushidical Eve-chan,” said a small, twin-tailed girl sitting in a floating throne made of bones.

“Indeed Dark General Fell Necromancer Princess of the Dark Abyss Pretty Ako-chan,” replied the samurai, a beautiful silver haired girl with eyes the color of the sky above, “We know each other’s hearts well by now, so let’s get to it.”

Ako responded not with words but with skeletal summons. They were no match for Eve, though. Any skeletons that got too close were cut down in a single slash, their flimsy shields providing no protection. Even the archers proved no threat, the samurai splitting their arrows in half and then splitting them in half.

“It’s rare for you to send me such weak minions,” Eve remarked.

“Just letting you get warmed up. Like, I got a cramp in gym class the other day and it sucked so warming up is pretty important,” Ako replied.

“I see. How bushido!”

This time, the necromancer attacked directly, firing dark purple spheres of deathly energy (set to stun, of course.) Eve danced around them deftly, getting closer to her foe with each step… until her foot got caught on a rock and she tripped.

Immediately, Ako got off her chair and ran to her fallen nemesis.

“Are you okay, Eve-chan?” she asked the samurai, offering her a hand.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Ako-chan. But, would it be okay with you if we tried that attack again from the beginning?”

“Sure, but let’s clear out the rocks first.”

A little time and magic use later, Eve and Ako resumed their battle. Purple death spheres flew towards Eve but were deftly dodged. She was upon the necromancer, sword in hand. But the dark mage had prepared for this, a giant skeletal hand bursting out of the ground and tightly grabbing the warrior of justice.

It was time for Ako to unleash her ultimate attack.

“Um, Eve-chan, would you mind waiting a bit before you break free? I came up with a really cool new attack, but it still takes me a really long time to charge it up.”

“Okay, Ako-chan!”

Ako closed her eyes, focusing her power. Soon, a magical circle appeared under her. After a bit more time, five more appeared before her.

Mist sprayed out of one. Leaved fell out of another. Embers, dirt, and iron shaving joined them.

Suddenly, all five magic circles shot out a beam of elemental energy. The beams intertwined and flew to Eve. Even this ultimate attack wasn’t enough, though. In a burst of magic-amplified strength, the samurai broke free. A magic-charged slash cut the beam down the middle, the two halves striking the ground harmlessly around her.

“You were right! That was a really cool attack, Ako-chan.”

“Thanks! The particle effects took a long time and a bunch of complex magic to get right. They use up a lot of mana too, so that attack would probably be stronger without them, but… what’s the point of magic if it isn’t flashy?”

“I admire how you’ve found your own bushido to strive for… let me match your spirit by showing you an attack of my own.”

“I look forward to it. How should I set up my summons?”

“A group of skeleton archers in a circle around me would be great, thanks.”

Ako fulfilled Eve’s request then relaxed. The moment the first arrow was loosed, the samurai seemed to teleport to the skeleton that fired it. She was there for only the blink of an eye before she was in front of the next skeleton. She went around the circle, her speed and magic combining to create a cyclone that sent Ako’s minions flying. The necromancer clapped and cheered.

“That was super cool, Eve-chan.”

It was in this manner that their duel continued, each of the brave fighters showing off their most magnificent, splendid, complex, flashy, and cool moves while their opponent helped them set up. Neither of them managed to hit the other, nor did they really try to. That didn’t mean they didn’t get worn down, though. By the time the sun went down, both of them were out of breath and ready to stop for the night.

“Eve-chan, that last attack took a bit more mana than I thought it would. Do you mind helping me teleport back?”

“I’d be happy to help! Just as long as you’re willing to give me a hug.”

“I’m always willing to give you a hug. You’re, like, the forbidden grand master of the dark arts of hugging, after all.”

Ako got off her throne and sleepily walked to Eve, wrapping her arms tightly around the warrior of justice. Arms were wrapped tightly around the necromancer in return. The ground beneath the two disappeared, and the ground of a Tokyo alley way appeared to replace it.

“Hey, Ako chan…” Eve said in a nervous voice that Ako hadn’t much heard her use, “I know this is a bit sudden and you need to go home to your sister soon, but would you do me the honor of accompanying me on a date?”

“I think I’ve said before that anyone who would reject you is a fool. And since I’m an evil mastermind, I’m no fool. Where do you want to go?”

“I heard that there’s a restaurant near here that honors the ancient traditions of the ninja. They even have traditional foods like matcha-chocolate bomb cake. I didn’t know that Sengoku Japan had chocolate, so I’m really excited to try it.”

“Kukuku… A restaurant for the dark shadow warriors of darkness… How fitting for a dark mage. Let’s go!”

And so went another peaceful day for Ako and Eve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eve is naturally a Bushido Samurai Warrior of Justice TM. She doesn't really know what bushido is, but that's okay because Eve's bushido is better than real bushido. Ako is on team Evil (c), but that's 100% for aesthetic reasons. She doesn't actually do anything to hurt other people because she's a good girl at heart. I imagine that when there's an actual threat Eve needs to face, Ako helps her.
> 
> This was pretty fun to write. The next one will take longer since I'm not that familiar with Mashiro.


	17. MashiroAko Catgirl Maid Cafe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Mashiro/Ako  
> Prompt: To help Mashiro get confident, Mashiro and Ako becomes waitresses in a cat girl maid cafe.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Ako-chan?” Mashiro asked her girlfriend nervously, “You still have homework and band practice to do, right?”

Ako and Mashiro were right outside a catgirl maid café, the sort of establishment that the singer would usually be too embarrassed to enter as a guest. Yet she was now being told by her girlfriend that it would be exactly this establishment at which they would be working at. When the drummer had proposed working at a part time job for a day to boost Mashiro’s confidence, she’d really been expecting more of a WacDonalds or Lawson sort of thing.

“Of course I want to do this! And when I showed you those pics of Yukina-san and Lisa-nee as catgirl maids, you said that they looked cute, so I thought you’d be excited about this too.”

“It’s not that I don’t think that the outfits are cute, it’s just... You already know I’m shy, so isn’t this a bit too much of a challenge to start with. Like learning to swim at the deep end of the swimming pool. Or, um, like skipping the tutorial of a video game.”

“I always skip the tutorials of games, though? Isn’t it more fun to get right into the action? Sure, you might die a few times here and there while you’re still figuring everything out, but it forces you to learn quick.”

That didn’t sound reassuring.

“And besides, I already told Lisa-nee that we’d work here, so we can’t back out now.”

Nor did that. But Mashiro would just have to gather the courage sealed deep within her heart and bear with this. She followed Ako into the fancily decorated café.

“Welcome, mistresses,” called out the cat girl staffing the counter at the front of the store, “Will that be a table for two, nya?”

“Actually, me and my girlfriend are to play the part of familiars ourselves. Could you acquaint us with your leader?” Ako asked with a confidence that Mashiro wished she had.

The cat girl giggled.

“You must be the girls who’re helping out today. The boss is busy since we’re a little short staffed right now, but I’ll help you two get ready.”

Before long, Ako and Mashiro were back at the front of the store, this time dressed in frilly maid outfits and adorned with cat ears.

“Are you sure this is alright, Ako-chan? I don’t want to disappoint any customers or ruin the shop’s reputation…”

“Don’t worry! You’re super cute! I bet everyone will love you just like I do. Well, hopefully not _just_ like I do… Anyway, follow my lead.”

Ako enthusiastically greeted the next woman who walked through the door with, “Welcome, great witch. I shall be your familiar upon this fine morn. How can I lend you my aid?”

The woman seemed a bit bewildered at first but managed to ask for a table and slowly adjusted to Ako’s pace as she was led to it. And then in walked the next customers, this time the slightly famous local band Hello Happy World.

“H-hello ma-mistresses. How can I help you today?”

“What a cute little kitten we are blessed with today,” said a tall purple haired girl, “How fleeting.”

“Stop bothering the staff, Kaoru. Could we get a table for five, please?” requested a tired looking black-haired girl.

“Of course, n-nya.”

That almost hurt Mashiro to say, but since this was a catgirl café, it was actually part of her job. A job that ended up being pretty challenging over the next two hours. And not just because of her social anxiety. The head cat-maid hadn’t been kidding when she said they were understaffed. And being so busy meant that she wasn’t able to spend much time with Ako either.

Still, Mashiro was very thankful for how surprisingly nice the customers were. Being a brand-new waitress starting during a busy shift, mistakes were inevitable. But instead of getting mad and yelling, the guests had been very patient with her.

Even more surprisingly, by the end of her first shift, Mashiro had gotten some positive reviews. Despite her ineptitude, people had enjoyed being served by her.

“See Mashiro, people love your cuteness, just like I said,” Ako remarked to her as their lunch break started.

“Even though I messed up too much…” Mashiro lamented.

“Clumsy maids are totally a thing, in Anime at least, so maybe messing up isn’t a problem.”

“Hmm… well, you were very popular too, Ako-chan.”

That was a given, of course. Despite her tastes, way of speaking, and actions being a little unique, the perky goth’s friendliness and cheer had a way of worming into your heart. Mashiro knew that more than anyone.

“Thanks! But all that serving drained my stamina like a spore beast’s noxious fumes.”

“That’s an NFO monster, right?”

“Yeah! In NFO, you need to bring lots of potions to prepare for them. But in real life, I think I can recharge just by hugging you.”

And Ako did. She looked way too happy for Mashiro to ask her to stop.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

Once their lunch break was over, their first job when they got back thankfully wouldn’t be as tiring as their work in the morning. Even better, they got to try out new, not-yet on the menu items, for which they had to come up with names for.

“Lisa told me that you like coming up with unique phrases, Udagawa-san, and I’ve heard some of your song lyrics, Kurata-san. I’m sure that between the two of you, you’ll come up with some great names,” their boss had said.

The first treat was a coffee flavored parfait. Through the use of food coloring, it was black as the blackest black coffee, though the taste wasn’t nearly as intimidating.

“How about ‘Witch’s Brew of the Dark Bean,’” suggested Ako.

“Since it’s a parfait, it’s not really a brew… Also, dark bean doesn’t sound that tasty to me,” Mashiro replied.

“I guess you’re right. Well, what do you think?”

“Um, the color of the ice cream is like the vacuum of space, but since it’s just regular coffee ice cream, it still tastes sweet… like a sweet-scented void.”

“Ooh, that sounds nice. ‘The Witch’s Sweet-Scented Void.’ Good job, Mashiro.”

If nothing else, Mashiro could count of her girlfriend for endless praise. And affection, too, she thought as she felt a tongue on her cheek.

“Ako-chan! What are you doing?”

“You had some cream on your cheek.”

“But why did you lick it instead of telling me? It’s a little embarrassing.”

“I’m a cat right now, nya.”

Mashiro tried to get her heart to calm down as they moved onto the next dessert: mochi filled with chocolate.

“Since this combines Japanese and European desserts, maybe we should use that kind of a theme?” Mashiro suggested.

“Hmm… like ‘Elven Princess being Hugged by a Yuki-onna?”

“Mochi is white and soft like snow, so I get that part, but why an elven princess?”

“Because chocolate is delicious and sweet, just like you, and you have the calming voice of an elven princess, soft and gentle!”

Mashiro blushed.

“You’re very affectionate today, Ako-chan. Well, I guess you’re always like this.”

“It’s the girlfriend tax. Lots of other people got to enjoy your cuteness today, so it’s only fair that I enjoy it too. Now open your maw for me, my elven princess.”

It was embarrassing, but Mashiro complied. Ako fed her one of the chocolate daifuku. It was especially sweet out of her girlfriend’s hand.

“You know, you make me want to write a love song, Ako-chan.”

“That would be amazing! Make sure you use lots of really cool words to describe me, okay? And invite me to your first performance.”

Some part of Mashiro was a little worried that she wouldn’t live up to Ako’s expectations but… Ako was a very honest girl, so she was sure she could believe in her girlfriend’s love.

And if nothing else, today had taught the singer that she could believe just a little in her own appeal, too.

“You can look forward to it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Mashiro is a little OOC. I read a translation of the Morfonica band story, but there isn't that much Mashiro material out there yet so I don't have the best grasp of her. Hopefully, it's still enjoyable.


	18. KaoruAko A princess and a mage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Kaoru x Ako  
> Prompt: Kaoru as somebody that Ako could look up to as very cool, like she does with her sister and try and emulate her princely persona.
> 
> I tried to find that story with someone mistaking Kaoru for a man, but I couldn't, so I went with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, it's a fantasy AU because that's what I instantly thought of.

Ako held on tightly to the reins of the horse she was riding while trying her hardest not to fall off. She felt like she was getting a lot better at this, but there was still a lot of practice she needed before she could get to the level of even a squire.

“You’re doing excellently. A good deal better than when I did when I first started. My rides back then were very… fleeting.”

Riding beside Ako was Kaoru, princess of the Seta kingdom. She was widely beloved for her caring soul, and especially popular amongst the kingdom’s women for her handsomeness and coolness.

Ako was one of those women too, but unlike many of the others, she wasn’t content to simply watch Kaoru do cool things. She wanted to perform Kaoru-like feats of coolness of her own. And so, she’d asked the princess for coolness lessons.

Even if Kaoru hadn’t quite understood, she happily agreed.

“We’re nearly back at the palace, so once you’ve had a chance to rest, we can begin our acting lessons my dearest kitten.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Kaoru-sama. I learned another spell that we can use in our performance.”

“Haven’t I told you before? An exceptional kitten such as yourself can just call me Kaoru. And, as always, I look forward to seeing your magic. What sort of spell is it this time?” Kaoru asked, a little excitedly.

“Levitation!”

“O-oh, I see,” the princess said in a suddenly much more nervous voice.

It was kind of cute how the usually suave and calm princess had a fear of heights, Ako thought to herself. ‘Gap moe’ she remembered her friend Rinrin calling it once.

“Don’t worry, Kaoru-sa – Kaoru. I can only levitate myself for now.”

“I trust your magic completely, so you can use me for practice if you want,” Kaoru said with obviously false bravado.

It was a little tempting to take Kaoru up on the offer just to see her reactions, but Ako wasn’t the sort of person who wanted to see her friend and mentor suffer.

Before long, Ako and Kaoru were back at the princess’ palace. Dismounting their horses, the pair took a leisurely walk though the garden before entering a large hall. It was messy, too much to show most guests, with props strewn about and backgrounds in the middle of being painted. Ako was one of the privileged few who had been invited to Kaoru’s acting quarters.

“Today, we’ll be acting out a tale of two friends who became officers in fighting armies,” Kaoru informed her student.

“That means we get to use the rapiers, right?” Ako asked enthusiastically.

“Yes. Your sister is in the guard, is she not? I think you would have made an excellent addition to it, too, if magic were not your calling.”

The two got into costumes, grabbed some blunt swords, and walked onto the stage.

Kaoru, script in her left hand and rapier in her right, began the scene.

“So, this day finally came,” she said, no longer Kaoru but instead a solder weary of war and full of sorrow.”

“We knew it would happen the moment this war began, didn’t we? And yet, the years haven’t made it any easier to figh-uh-face you here,” Ako responded, somewhat less convincingly, “If you asked me to, I would si-um-stand here and let you kill me.”

“You know that I could not ask that of you. After all, I would do the same.”

“Then this cruel world demands us to fight.”

While Ako’s acting didn’t convey quite as much emotion as Kaoru’s did, thanks to her royal guard sister, her swordplay was excellent. She parried Kaoru’s thrusts and counterattacked, using large, exaggerated movements to convey passion and intensity.

Finally, Kaoru backed Ako to a wall and began her final thrust, but the mage used her levitation magic to flip over her and stab her in the back. The princess collapsed into Ako’s arms.

“So your will has prevailed. Would you do me one last favor?” Kaoru asked, worn and defeated.

“For you, I would do anything.”

“Then please give me one last ki- oh. Oh!” Kaoru exclaimed, breaking character, “I may have made a small mistake when choosing this script. Since there’s a kiss scene, shall we stop here?”

“I don’t mind kissing you, Kaoru. I like and trust you a lot. And anyway, you’re on the top of the list of people that girls want to kiss. Hii-chan will be so jealous!”

“But this will be your first kiss, will it not? Are you absolutely certain?”

“I don’t think there are many people in this kingdom who’d mind their first kiss being with you. I certainly wouldn’t!”

“Well then, I see that your dedication is firm, dear kitten. Let’s try acting this part once more.”

Kaoru’s expression made a miraculous transformation from inspired by Ako’s boldness back to weary and resigned.

“Then please give me one last kiss,” the Princess said, “My last pleasure in this world.”

“It will be my last happiness too,” Ako read out before bringing her lips down to Kaoru’s

It was a simple kiss, no more than a meeting of the lips. It felt much more special than that, though. Even Kaoru nearly forgot she was in the middle of a play.

“Hey Kaoru,” Ako asked uncharacteristically shyly, “do you think we could practice kiss scenes a bit more?”

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Years later, Ako had managed to start a successful career as a court mage. The position had required her to move to the nearby Kingdom of Roses, but the position was so hard to get than when Ako had heard she was accepted, she’d ridden all the way to the Minato family’s castle as fast as she could.

But when she had heard that princess Kaoru was looking for a bride, she rushed back to the Seta Kingdom just as fast.

Ako only took breaks to eat and sleep until she was back at her family’s home. Her horse, a farewell gift from Kaoru, had seemed just as determined as her to get back. They’d even managed to beat the letter Ako had sent her family to tell them she’d be coming.

It had been a teary reunion, but a happy one. Her sister had so many stories from her time in the guard, and now Ako had plenty stories of her own to tell. The meal her parents made wasn’t as fancy as what she ate in Yukina’s court, but it was every bit as delicious.

As nice as seeing her family again was, though, that wasn’t why Ako had come back. Grabbing just a roll of bread for breakfast, she set out early the next morning to find the princess.

It wasn’t hard to do. Large crowds always tended to gather around Kaoru, and since she’d announced her intention to marry, those crowds had only grown. Many women were just waiting for their chance to make their appeal. As tempted as Ako was to run up to the princess and give her a hug, she had a feeling some of those women wouldn’t be to happy about that.

So Ako waited until Kaoru broke off from the crowd and headed back to her palace. It was a palace the mage knew well, and thankfully there weren’t many guards around thanks to how peaceful the Seta kingdom was.

Kaoru’s habits hadn’t changed much since Ako had last seen her, so it didn’t take the mage any time to find her walking through the woods inside the castle walls. It wasn’t uncommon for servants or guards to ride horses around here, so the sound of a horse didn’t disturb the princess’ daydreaming. It was distressingly easy for Ako to ride by and use a bit of magic enhanced strength to grab her. 

“Unhand me brigand – wait, Ako!?”

“Yup! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed. You certainly know how to make a fleeting appearance. Unless… you haven’t been sent by the kingdom of Roses to assassinate me, have you? Well, I suppose that if it’s my life you want, I can’t find it in me to deny it of you.”

“Don’t worry, Kaoru, you can keep that sort of depressing plot to your plays. Though, I guess it _is_ your life I’m after, in a sense. I heard that you’ve been looking for someone to marry.”

“Yes. And so, you wish to be that someone? Well, I suppose I did just say I would give you my life. And if I were to choose a single kitten to be a personal prince for, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather it be than you.”

“I don’t want you to be my personal prince, Kaoru.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope. Your coolness that exceeds a frost demon’s magic is practically a national treasure. Like a guardian angel, you brighten the life of everyone you meet. How could anyone who loves you or the kingdom want to take that away? I want you to keep being the Kaoru you’ve always been. And when you’re tired and need to rest, when you need help and support, I want to be there for you as the lap you lie on.”

Despite the somewhat awkward high difference, accentuated by the fact that Kaoru was currently sitting on Ako’s lap, the mage brought a hand up to the princess’ cheek and caressed it.

“Does that sound agreeable to you, princess?”

“You know, you’ve become a very cool kitten yourself, Ako. Your idea is the most agreeable thing I've ever heard.”

Kaoru tilted her head down to meet Ako in a soft but electrifying kiss.

“Shall we go on a date tonight then, my most beloved kitten?”

“Yeah! I want to show you how my abyssal power has grown.”

“I’m looking forward to it. May our future together be fleeting!”

“… Uh, if it’s alright with you, I think I’d prefer it if our future together was the opposite of that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to subtly work in a bit of the Kaoru not wanting to be seen as a man thing, but I'm not sure if it really worked. I also tried to use that Kaoru prompt I got earlier, too. Hopefully, this is nearly as fun for you to read as it was for me to write.


	19. KokoroAko Birthday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: KokoroAko  
> Prompt: it's Ako's birthday and Kokoro invites her, as well as whatever friends she wishes to bring, to the Tsurumaki Estate for a huge, extravagant party, but it's secretly a ruse for Kokoro to give Ako her real birthday present, something she's kept hidden for a while, a confession of love!

If Ako was the sort of person to rank her birthdays, today’s would be at the very top. It was all thanks to Kokoro, who had invited her and her friends and family to a party. And what a party it was! Part of the Tsurumaki manor had been redecorated into a scene right out of NFO! There was a dining room that looked like the guild hall, a bounce house replica of the Dark King’s castle that managed to have multiple floors, an obstacle course decorated like a dungeon, and plenty of foam weapons to have battles with. She couldn’t thank Kokoro enough.

And here Kokoro came now.

“Ako! How are you enjoying the party?”

“It’s great, Kokoro. These dragonbreath cakes are great too! Sinful chocolate and burning chili blend surprisingly well.”

“I’m so happy! Your smile makes me smile… Um, there’s something I want to tell you,” Kokoro said nervously, lacking her usual exuberance.

“I’m listening as closely as a spy of Asmodeus!"

"So, um, Ako, uh… I just wanted to say that you… really might enjoy this Queen Skeledragon figure!”

Suddenly, there was a plastic model of a skeleton dragon in Ako’s hands and a Tsurumaki heiress running down the hall. This had been happening all day. Not that the drummer wasn’t happy with the gifts, but she hoped that Kokoro was okay.

“Udagawa-san, Shirokane-san wanted to try one of the obstacle courses with me and you,” Ako heard Sayo call out.

“I’ll be right there!”

And so Ako’s party went, full of games with friends, delicious treats, and occasional encounters with an almost… embarrassed (it was hard to see that word applying to Kokoro with how she usually acted) Kokoro. It was a very fun party, but the drummer wanted to spend more time with the girl who’d planned it.

She was about to get her wish.

“Do you have a moment, Udagawa-san,” asked Misaki as she approached.

“Misaki-san? Sure, I guess I’m free right now.”

Misaki led Ako away from the NFO themed part of the manor to a much more regularly decorated, but still very fancy, room.

Ako went inside. Misaki didn’t follow her. Instead, she just said, “I’m sorry about this, but it needed to be done,” then shut the door.

When Ako checked, she discovered that this particular room locked from the outside. The room was pretty high up, too, so going out through the window wouldn’t be easy. As the drummer looked out trying to find a safe way down. The door opened again. A pink hand pushed Kokoro into the room before shutting the door once more.

“Kokoro! Um, why are we getting kidnapped in your own house? Oh, is this one of those escape room games?”

“Not quite,” Kokoro said in the quietest voice Ako had ever heard her use, “There’s something that I haven’t been brave enough to say even though I really want to. Michelle told be I couldn’t leave until I say it.”

“But you’re one of the bravest girls I know, Kokoro. I’ve seen you jump out of the third floor of a building and talk to an actual bear. I’m sure that whatever it is you want to say, you can say it!”

“I’m really worried, though, because if I mess this up, some really bad things could happen. I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life.”

“Well, Misa-Michelle must have brought me here for a reason, so I’ll lend you my power.”

“Thanks, Ako, but you’re the one I need to tell this to… actually, there is one thing you could do to help me. Will you promise to keep being my friend no matter what?”

“Of course, Kokoro!”

Ako was getting a little worried now. What could be so bad that she would stop being friends with Kokoro? Certainly nothing the drummer could imagine the cheerful girl doing.

Kokoro took a deep breath.

“So, um, for a long time, you’ve been making me feel really happy. I mean, lots of people make me feel really happy, and you did too the first time I met you, but recently… you’ve been making me feel _really_ happy. Your smile is bright like the sun! Or, I guess you’d be happier if I said it was like hellfire? And you’re really nice like and angel. And pretty like an angel. And fun to spend time with. And, I’d really love it if you would go out with me!”

Suddenly, Kokoro’s nervousness and the strange interactions Ako had been having all day made a bit more sense. Not that the drummer had any first hand experience, but confessing always seemed like a tough thing to do for characters in games and manga.

But how should Ako react? It’s not like Kokoro being in love with her was a bad thing that she’d end a friendship over, but she’d never really thought of the heiress in a romantic way. Kokoro was always fun to be around, though. Dating her was sure to be fun, too, so why not give it a try?

“Okay, Kokoro! I’m not really sure what you do when you start going out though. You’re supposed to give each other kisses and stuff, right, so why don’t we seal our bond with one?”

Kokoro cheered back up, even more happy than she usually was.

“Yeah!”

As their lips met, Ako literally saw fireworks. The suits must have been keeping track of them somehow. They didn’t really need to; pyrotechnics were cool, but kissing Kokoro was plenty cool all on its own.

“So, I think we can leave now,” Kokoro said, “but your escape room idea sounded really fun, so do you want to try it?”

“Let’s go!”

And with that, their adventure together began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a little hard for me to write Kokoro, but hopefully it's still enjoyable.
> 
> I'll be taking another break to write a few other fics before taking more prompts.


	20. Prompts are open again

I am once again asking for your Ako shipping support. Right now, I'm pretty committed to writing at least one of every f/f Ako pairing (18/36 ships, so we're nearly [halfway there](https://youtu.be/lDK9QqIzhwk?t=93)), so I am looking for ships I have not yet done on this collection. 

Rules:

1\. f/f please

2\. I don't really get A/B/O at all

3\. If you give me an angsty prompt, I'll find a way to turn it into fluff

4\. I'll take the first five prompts posted in the comments of THIS chapter


	21. TsugumiAko Halloween Preperations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: TsugumiAko  
> Prompt: Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bandori fanfic discord I'm on is having a Halloween rare pair event, so I decided to make use of it to add ships to this collection that no one has suggested yet. This won't affect the number of prompts I am taking or anything, so don't worry.

As the month changes from one digit to two, fall festivities seemed to go into overdrive. Circle was decorated with pumpkins, while the café outside sold pumpkin spice lattes. Hazawa coffee had added one to their menu too, along with a “spooky” orange creamsickle shake. Lots of stores downtown had been adding Halloween themed items to their menus. Even the usually stern owner of Kitazawa croquettes had started selling pumpkin croquettes (both pumpkin-shaped and pumpkin-filled.)

Tsugumi’s school was also deep into Halloween preparations. “Boppin’ Celebrations” had been a core promise of Hina’s student council president campaign and she was determined to live up to it. Tsugumi was put in charge of setting up a haunted house that “put the zap in zappin’.”

Working with Tsugumi was the one student who was looking forward to this even more than Hina: Udagawa Ako.

“…so, in order to truly put fear into the hearts of women and men, we need to strike when they least expect it. That’s why I think that right after the guests finally exit the haunted house and start talking to the receptionists, we should have skeleton robots pop out!” suggested the very excited drummer.

“That’s a pretty good idea, Ako-chan, but I think animatronics might be a little to expensive for our school,” Tsugumi replied.

“Oh well. It’s too bad Kokoro doesn’t go to this school.”

“Your idea of having a scare after visitors think they’re done is great, though. Maybe we could have someone dressed in a skeleton costume?”

“Nah, a fake skeleton is easier to distinguish than a red dragon trying to hide in an open field. I think a different costume would give a higher boost to the disguise stat. Like maybe Kaoru-senpai in a ghost costume. She’s always making girls faint.”

“Girls don’t usually faint to Kaoru because they’re scared, though.”

Working with Ako was a lot of fun. While the girl had a similar energy to Hina, she was also a very hard worker and incredibly determined to making this haunted house a success.

“Well, I think we’ve done enough planning for now,” Tsugumi said, “Why don’t we start working on some of the props we’ll need?”

“Mwa-ha-ha… The fell conjurations of our nightmares shall be brought into the realm of reality. Let us unleash our power of… of, um…”

“The abyss?”

Tsugumi didn’t completely understand what her junior was talking about, but she had known Ako long enough to get a sense of how her speeches went.

“The abyss! Thanks, Tsugu-chin! You’re a lifesaver. A really cool and Tsugurific lifesaver!”

The praise made Tsugumi blush a little, even if she should have been used to Ako’s compliments by now. The drummer gave praise out very freely, after all.

For now, the pair decided that their first task would be building a praiseworthy entrance to the haunted house. At most schools, a haunted house like this would be limited to one or two classrooms, but with Hina as the student council president, it had been decided that the entire school would become haunted. The entrance had to match this grand scale.

Ako and Tsugumi had come up with the idea of using a tent as the entrance, adding some blackout cloth to make it “as dark as the void of space,” and adding some soft obstacles that guests would have to get through just to arrive at the reception area.

Fortunately, the camping club already had a huge tent they could use. With the weather getting colder, though, it had been a while since the camping club had actually used the tent. As such, it was currently in the far reaches of a very crowded storage room.

“We enter the forbidden labyrinth in search of a treasure most precious. But that dangers lie within?” Ako said while making anime character-esqe pose.

“I do think this room needs to be cleaned up, but I don’t think there’s any danger we need to worry about, Ako-chan.”

It took some searching and a bit of crawling, but they finally found the tent on top of a shelf, just outside of Tsugumi’s reach.

“I’ll get a stool,” Tsugumi said.

“That’ll be really hard to get back here, won’t it? We’d basically have to clean most of the storage room, and that seems like it would be really boring. Besides, you’ve given me piggyback rides before, right? Let’s just do that.”

That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. Especially since Ako hadn’t grown all that much since the last time Tsugumi had giver her a piggyback ride. The student council member decided not to say that part out loud.

“Okay, Ako-chan, get on my shoulders.”

Tsugumi bent down to let her junior get on top of her. Unlike Ako’s hands, made rough and tough bu countless hours of drumming, her legs were almost distractingly soft. Luckily, the drummer was light enough that Tsugumi could hold her up pretty easily. Unluckily, the tent was not so light.

“Tsugu-chin, I got it! Uh, are you okay, it’s kind of shaky- wah!”

The two of them tumbled down, Ako landing on top of Tsugumi and the tent thankfully landing harmlessly besides them.

“You’re really pretty-Tsugu-chin,” was the first thing that came out of Ako’s mouth, her face only a few centimeters away from Tsugumi’s.

“You’re really pretty too, Ako-chan. Your eyes are like rubies.”

“Hey, I told you that I used to have a crush on you, right? Back when Afterglow was crushing on you, too.”

“Yeah.”

“How would you react if I said that crush never went away.”

“I’d say I wouldn’t mind dating you.”

Tsugumi closed her eyes as Ako’s head approached hers. Their lips met in a gentle kiss.

After a few seconds of holding their kiss and embrace, the drummer jumped up and picked up the tent.

“Alright! I’m erupting with hellfire energy right now. We’ve got to make this haunted house the best one ever, since it’s a monument to our forbidden love!”

“I don’t think our love is forbidden, Ako-chan,” Tsugumi said while getting off the ground, “But I agree, let’s do our best! And, um, after we’re done today, do you want to go on a date?”

“Yeah!”

Halloween had always been a fun time of year for Tsugumi and Ako, but from now on, they had a feeling it would be even more special for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you requested a ship, I'm working on those now. I'm already about halfway done writing the HimaAko one, though who knows how busy my week will get. By the way, only two people gave me a prompt this time. If no one else, does, I'll start using a random number generator and a prompt generator to write the other ships, so even if you've already asked for a prompt before or you're not sure about your idea, go ahead and post it.


	22. HimariAko Stupid Sexy Swimsuits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Himari/Ako  
> Prompt: Swimsuit Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
> So when I went in to this, I thought, let's avoid sexy things.
> 
> And then my brain threw a bunch of sexy related ideas back at me. Well, I think it still counts as teen, since there aren't even mentions of the 'horizontal tango', and the characters involved have worn bikini's in canonically released materials before, but if you're sensitive about that sort of thing, it's probably best to skip this. There are some mentions of characters thinking about each other naked and so on, but absolutely no graphic details about any of this. Also, discussion of 'sexyness' as a concept. But hopefully I don't have to change the entire rating of this collection due to this one chapter. If you disagree, please leave a comment, and I'll either raise the rating or, more likely, post this chapter separately. 
> 
> Also, let's go ahead and say this takes place soon after Ako has graduated from high school. She's still smoll, though.

It was nearing the end of summer, which meant that before long, Himari’s dream of going to the beach with her friends would have to wait for one entire year. So, the bassist had asked and begged until the rest of Afterglow had finally agreed. Himari had been so happy that day, the moment she got home, she dug out her old bikini and put it on.

She had a shocking realization: her swimsuit no longer fit.

When she had posted a tearful message to the Afterglow group chat, Tomoe had said Ako was looking for a swimsuit, too. Shopping was always more fun with friends, so Himari had agreed to bring the young drummer along.

“What do you think of this one, Ako?” Himari asked her companion, wearing a yellow bikini with white polka dots.

“You look as hot as Gehenna!” came Ako’s cheerful reply.

“You said that about the last three swimsuits.”

“Well, that’s because you always look as hot as Gehenna.”

This was a pro and con of shopping with Ako. No matter what Himari wore, Ako would praise it, so she didn’t need to feel self-conscious. On the other hand, it was very hard to get useful advice like this.

“Well, is there anything you’d like to see me try out,” Himari asked.

Ako thought for a moment, wondering about her senpai in various swim ready outfits. It didn’t take long for her mind to wonder to certain images she looked at when no one was home, incognito browsing was on, and she was using at least two VPNs.

The drummer shook her head to remove those thoughts. She couldn’t look at Himari with those sinful eyes!

“You look good wearing anything, Hii-chan, so I can’t really think of anything in particular.”

“Thanks, Ako-chan, but I know I’m a bit too fat to pull of some looks.”

“But you’re not, though? Your body is really good.”

“It makes my happy to hear that, but I _am_ shopping for a new swimsuit since I outgrew my last one.”

“But that was a bikini, right? So it doesn’t mean that you got fat, it just means you got more, um, sinfully tempting.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah! Uh, do you know how succubi worked in the original stories? They’d take whatever form their victim liked the most. I bet if a succubus targeted me, they’d have a body just like you.”

“So does that mean you’re more attracted to me that to anyone else?”

Ako blushed.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Himari blushed, too.

“Oh. Well, uh, that does make me feel really good about myself, Ako-chan. Thanks! How about we spend some time finding you a swimsuit now? What kind do you think you want.”

“Something really cool! I guess I’d like it to be a bit sexy, too, but I’m not as sexy as you, Hii-chan.”

“Don’t worry, Ako-chan, they say that being sexy is all about attitude. I’m sure we can find you something cool _and_ attractive.”

Normally, Himari would look for something cute and frilly for Ako, but if she wanted something cool… well, there’s no way she’d dislike a swimsuit just like the one worn by the older sister she looked up to, right? At the very least, it was a place to start.

“Why don’t you try this?” Himari said while holding out an army green bikini.

“Okay, Hii-chan.”

Ako went into a changing room. The moment she popped out, Himari began to analyze every inch of her.

One thing was immediately apparent. Tomoe had said that her little sister had started joining her when she worked out, and that exercise was having results. While they weren’t quite as chiseled as her older sister’s, Ako had abs! And her arms were amazingly toned from the drumming she did. While her legs weren’t as muscly, they were definitely fit, too.

Maybe Ako didn’t have the typical appeal of a swimsuit model, but she definitely had an appeal to her. An almost hunk-like appeal, despite her small size.

Himari’s brain conjured a vivid image of Ako in the standard Hunk outfit of only a speedo. All of her rippling muscles were on display. But there was one part of mind-Ako that Himari’s mental gaze couldn’t focus in on. A mystery with an answer that lie just below Ako’s bikini-top…

Himari shook her head to snap out of it. She couldn’t look at Ako with those lusting eyes!

“I think that looks really good on you, Ako. What do you think?”

“This is like what onee-chan wears, right? It’s definitely cool but maybe a different kind of cool than what I’m looking for. I kinda want something that’ll accentuate my ancient dark powers of the abyss, you know? Maybe something a bit gothic-inspired?”

“So, like one of those Victorian-era bathing suits or something,” Himari suggested as a joke. Ako seemed to actually be considering it, though, so to prevent that crime against fashion, she quickly continued, “Well, bikinis don’t come in many different shapes, but they do have various things printed on them. How about these ones with dragons?”

“Wow, good eye Hii-chan. Those are really cool! Help me chose the right element. Fire dragon to complement my eyes, or shadow dragon to complement my dark aura?”

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Eventually, both Ako and Himari had found a swimsuit they liked. Ako had taken Himari’s advice about sexiness to heart, though, and had asked for lessons to cultivate a ‘sexy’ attitude. The bassist said that she had no idea how to do that, but happy to spend more time with Ako, she invited the drummer to her house so they could work on it together.

That Ako wanted to practice her powers of appeal while wearing the bikini she’d just bought might have contributed to Himari’s eagerness just a tiny bit.

Himari racker her brain, looking through memories of magazines for advice she could give to Ako.

“…So, sexiness comes in many different forms,” she said to an attentive drummer, “Some people like helpless girls, but I think you’d be better of taking the _ikemen_ route. First, you need confidence, which you already have so that’s a good start. Next, you need to focus your prince energy and use it to make girls swoon.”

Hmm… Well, Ako’s favorite prince was Lich Prince Phillipe, so princely energy probably wasn’t that different to her usual shadow energy. How could she make a girl swoon, though… Well, she had seen a forbidden technique in a manga she’d read. Maybe with Himari’s help, she could try it out.

Ako pushed a chair against a wall.

“Hii-chan, would you mind sitting here?” Ako asked.

“Sure!”

Ako walked right in front of the sitting bassist, then slammed the wall beside her. If the kabedon wasn’t enough, the drummer sat on Himari’s lap, straddling her, then used her free hand to raise up Himari’s chin.

If she wasn’t already sitting down, Himari had no doubt her legs would have given out. They were both in bikini’s, so she could feel Ako’s soft, smooth skin against her own. Between the intensity of Ako’s gaze and kabedon, the gentleness of the hand on her chin, and how nicely Ako fit on her lap, Himari couldn’t help but close her eyes and pucker her lips.

The kiss she was waiting for didn’t come, though.

“So, what did you think, Hii-chan? Did I do good?” Ako asked.  
“I think you did really well, Ako-chan,” Himari answered, “I also think I want a kiss now, please.”

“Okay!”

Ako locked lips with Himari, moving her arm from the wall to wrap it around Himari’s body. The bassist hugged her back.

Their lips stayed together for a while, until they finally broke away panting. Ako was perhaps a perplexing mix of hottie and cutie, Himari reflected, confident and sweet, firm and muscular but easy to hold and cuddle. It was a mix that was 100% nice, and 100% Ako.

“Does this mean we’re girlfriends now, Hii-chan?” Ako asked excitedly.

“Well, a single kiss doesn’t usually mean you have to start dating, but I love being with you, and I’d be lucky to have a girlfriend like you, so why not?”

“Yay!”

“Ah, and now that we’re dating… well, I saw the way you were looking at me when we were shopping earlier, so if there’s anything you want me to wear for your eyes only, I’d be happy to.”

With one wink, Ako.exe shut down to reboot.


	23. KasumiAko Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Kasumi/Ako  
> Prompt: both trying to confess to the other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been written for a while, but took me a while to type up. The AyaAko is about halfway done, so that will take a while too, probably

For Asuka, her friend Ako was often hard to understand. Her sister Kasumi was hard to understand, too.

How Ako had ended up with a crush on Kasumi was even more hard to understand.

If it was Lock, that would have been one thing. She looked up to Popipa quite a lot. Ako, on the other hand, was in a band that was by all accounts ahead of Poppin’ Party.

Still, Asuka had agreed to help her friend out. If nothing else, it would get Kasumi out of her hair more often.

“…so, I asked Kasumi’s bandmates about her, and Arisa told me the story of how Kasumi found her way to Ryuseido by following a trail of golden star stickers. I thought I could do the same thing – make a trail of star stickers, but using black stars of darkness, and at the end of the trail, I’ll be waiting with my confession,” Ako explained.

That all seemed very extra, if Asuka was being honest. It was exactly the sort of extra Kasumi would love, though.

“That sounds like a good plan to me. Do you even need my help?”

“Well, even if I have an idea of _how_ to lead Kasumi, I don’t have any idea _were_ to lead Kasumi. Do you know anywhere that’s special to her?”

“Other than Ryuseido? Maybe Galaxy or Circle? Onee-chan is the sort of person who remembers memories of friends more than the place itself, though, so I’m sure wherever you confess to her will become special to her.”

“You think my confession will be a special memory for Kasumi?”

“Onee-chan comes to my room even more often than usual when you’re around, so I’m pretty sure she likes you back. I bet if you just followed my to my house and confessed today, she’d accept.”

“Hmm… well, I still want it to feel special, though. Hey, is there a park you know near Hanasakigawa that’s good for stargazing?”

“I think Hina-senpai would know more about that. If you find one, I’m sure onee-chan will love it.”

“Then I shall seek Hina’s elder knowledge later today. And after that… will you lend me your aid in placing infernal stars of darkness please?”

“Sure, it’s not like I have anything better to do."  
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

“Yukina-senpai!” Kasumi called out to Roselia’s vocalist while she was on her way back home.

“Toyama-san. Did you need something?”

“Yeah, I’m looking for advice.”

“Does Popipa plan to hold another live soon?”

“Not band-related advice, Ako-related advice. She’s really cool, and I think she’s a pretty swell girl, so I want to ask her out.”

“Hmm… normally, I’d say to ask Lisa about such matters, but she’s busy right now. I don’t know that much about relationships. I didn’t even know I was dating Lisa until our three-year anniversary. Maybe I can tell you a bit about Ako, though. At yesterday’s band practice, she and Rinko were using their phones to look at ‘memes’.”

“Memes?”

“Yes, Ako informed me that they are popular images on the internet that ‘netizens’ use to communicate. Perhaps you can make use of them to communicate your feelings to Ako.”

“Ooh, that sounds like a plan. But what sorts of pictures are these ‘memes’?”

“There are many kinds in existence. My favorite is Nyan-Cat. It is an animation of a hybrid creature composed of a cute kitten and a pop tart flying through space as a heavenly melody plays in the background.”

Yukina took her phone out and showed the meme to Kasumi.

“Wow, memes seem really special. And they can be about space, too! Since I’m into stars and Ako’s into darkness, do you think there are any memes about black holes?”

“Let us search,” Yukina said, opening the web browser on her phone just as Rinko had taught her.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Kasumi walked out of school feeling pretty good about her plan. The day before, she’d gotten Popipa to help her make a video to express how much she loved Ako, and then downloaded it onto her phone. All that was left was to find the drummer and show her.

But then something caught her attention. A star stuck right outside the school gates, as dark as a moonless midnight. Kasumi didn’t waste any time before following it.

“Kasumi, weren’t you going to confess to Ako today?” Arisa called out.

“Yes, but this is destiny!”

As Kasumi followed the trail of black stars to a clearing in the woods, it turned out that destiny and Ako were one and the same.

“Kukuku, welcome to the forbidden land. I have secret knowledge that I wish to impart,” said Ako.

“What a coincidence,” Kasumi replied, “I have something I want to tell you, too.”

“Well… I shall give you the honor of speaking first,” Ako said nervously.

“Okay! I made a video for you, so please watch it.”

Kasumi took out her phone and played what she had worked so hard on. The first image, cropped pictures of Ako and Kasumi on a black screen with “I Love You” written in big letters with the ’O’s replaced by pictures of black holes, was already enough to make Ako swoon.

And then the air horns sounded.

A brightly flashing screen proclaimed that there were three reasons Kasumi would make an excellent girlfriend. And also that the illuminati and Half-Life 3 were confirmed.

Reason 1: Kasumi was a hugging pro. A montage of Kasumi hugging friends and family played, set to Evanescence and CS:GO sound effects. There was even a clip of her dragging Popipa into a group hug with a sound clip of a boy boasting about a “quadruple collateral.”

Reason 2: You taught Kasumi what love is. The singer, along with Rimi and Tae, bopped their heads along with Haddaway’s 1993 hit. A thought bubble showed exactly who was on Kasumi’s mind.

Reason 3: You are everything to Kasumi. This part of the video was just a simple picture of Shrek with his head replaced by Ako’s. To the uncultured, it might have been grotesque. To Ako, it was one of the sweetest gestures she had ever received. For Kasumi to call her Love and Life? What a powerful statement.

The video closed with some more airhorns, flashing colors, and pictures of Tae’s rabbits standing in a triangular formation. Ako had a suspicion that if she paused on just the right frame, she’d see a message telling her to date Kasumi. Not that she’d need a subliminal message to want to do that.

One thing was for sure. Even with how much she had wanted to be Kasumi’s girlfriend before, she wanted it even more now. To do all this work just for the drummer’s sake… Ako’s heart swelled with love.

“So what do you think, Ako-chan?” Kasumi asked just a little hesitantly. Ako wasn’t sure why. Who could say no to a confession like that?

“Actually, I was planning to confess to you, too,” Ako admitted, “But I think you did a way cooler job than me. I love you, Kasumi.”

Kasumi gave Ako an affectionate hug.

“That’s not true! You’re the one who stuck those stars, right? It was like fate was calling me! And when I say you at the end of the trail, it felt like we were soulmates.”

“Well, who can control our destiny but us? If we love each other, then soulmates we are. Kiss me, Kasumi!”

Kasumi did.

~End~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You: Wow, this sure took a while. This will definitely be quality content.  
> Me: Have some vintage memes instead of that.  
> Well, you get what you pay for, I guess. Hopefully it's still fun to read, but I feel like this would have been better if I was good enough at memes to actually make that video. The inspiration was those MLG videos of random things that used to be a trend. For example, this one about pancakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAnnR5Y7klc 
> 
> I'm still taking two more prompts, so if my terrible writing is satisfactory to you (or more likely, I am the only one who's willing to work to make a fic for that ship) please post a comment on chapter 20


	24. AyaAko Idoling around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Aya/Ako  
> Prompt: Idol costume
> 
> I even managed to fit in all the side pairs. Rating warning - there are some implications here and there but if you don't know what they're referring to, this fic won't teach you.

Ako was, for once, at the front of the stage, singing her heart out and playing on a very simplified drum kit. She was having the time of her life swinging around a pair of light-up drumsticks.

Standing at the stage along with her were Yukina and all of Pastel Palettes sans Maya, singing and dancing like a typical idol group. Playing instruments was left to the rest of Roselia, along with the idol band’s drummer.

They were practicing for a joint live. For their encore, the two bands had decided to play a song together. It was something Ako was very excited for, especially since it gave her a chance to shine on stage with her girlfriend, Aya. Even if their song and ultra-cool final pose were delivered to an empty auditorium, Ako felt as energized as ever.

Once practice was done and the two bands left the concert hall, Ako wasted no time in glomping Aya. It was a good thing that the drummer was affectionate enough in general that this wouldn’t cast suspicion on her relationship with the idol.

“How did I do, Aya-chan?” Ako asked.

“You were very cute, Ako-chan. If you wanted to, I bet you’d be an amazing idol,” Aya answered, hugging the drummer back.

“Yeah, especially since you remember the lyrics way better than Aya-chan,” Hina chimed in.

“I’m trying my best, Hina-chan,” Aya replied.

“Don’t worry, Aya-chan,” said Ako, “Messing up is part of your appeal! It gives you, um, what was that word that Moca used… Moe! It makes me want to protecc you and cuddle you, just like a pupper that’s having trouble chasing her tail.”

Aya sighed, not really sure how to feel about her girlfriend’s words. Still, she bent down to accept Ako’s head pats. The drummer was very good at spoiling her, something she said she learned from her older sister.

“Speaking of appeal, at lots of idol concerts, the performers wear a special outfit for the encore, right?” Ako asked, “So what is Pasu Pare and Roselia wore matching outfits for our encore.”

“We don’t have that much time till the concert, Ako-chan,” Chisato reminded her, “But it’s not a bad idea.”

“I think it’s a boppin idea, too! I can’t wait to match with onee-chan,” Hina exclaimed.

“Shouldn’t we concentrate on the music rather than the costumes?” Sayo protested.

“But Sayo, this is at least 50% idol concert. Shouldn’t we live up to the Pasu Pare fan’s expectations?” Lisa countered, hugging the guitarist from behind. “And don’t you want to see me in one of those cute idol outfits with the short skirts?” the bassist whispered into Sayo’s ear, turning her into a blushing mess.

“I suppose it makes sense to match the expectations of our fans. Let’s talk to the staff,” said Yukina.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

With the concert quickly approaching, the agency had told the bands to look around a storeroom of past outfits and pick one that could be modified for their use. The girls had decided to split into groups. Naturally, Ako had decided to go with Aya.

It didn’t take long for the drummer to find something that caught her eye. She reached into one of the racks and pulled out a dress that seemed to mostly consist of lavender frills and dark purple lace.

“Look, Aya-chan! They have a dark princess Schattenhilde costume! I didn’t expect them to have something like this.”

“Well, the agency does do magical girl themed shows, sometimes. Do you want to try it on?”

“Yeah!”

Aya helped Ako find a changing room. It didn’t take long for the drummer to pop out again.

“How do I look, Aya-chan?”

Amazingly adorable, Aya thought, but also amazingly _hot_. There was no way that outfit was from a children’s show. The idol hadn’t realized it when the costume was all folded up, but the outfit really was mostly just frills and lace, leaving a lot of skin uncovered. And what _was_ covered was often covered by very sheer fabric. All the important bits were properly hidden, but this still wasn’t an outfit Aya was going to wear on stage.

“You look great,” Aya answered honestly, “But I think that might be a bit too… amazing for an idol concert. Maybe we should find something with a bit more fabric.”

“Okay! Is it fine if it’s another magical girl costume?”

“Yeah. Actually, magical girl outfits and idol outfits are often pretty close, so it’s not a bad idea to look for them.”

“Are you a magical girl fan, too, Aya-chan?”

“I used to watch a lot when I was younger! But then a friend suggested Madoka Magia to me, and even though it looked like a really cute show, it… wasn’t. I haven’t been able to look at magical girls the same way since.”

“F. Well, maybe you could let me introduce you to happier magical girl series! Like the one this outfit is from.”

Ako had found another outfit to try on. From the bulk, this outfit probably covered a lot more than the last one. But the fake fur and wool yarn looked very warm. Maybe a little bit too warm to dance in. 

“The anime this was from was awesome! It takes place in an alternate universe where magical girls raced to be the first to the North Pole. The main character worked really hard to achieve their dreams, just like you. Try it on, Aya-chan!”

Aya did. If the outfit had looked warm, it felt even warmer. As if it had been created to film something at the actual North Pole.

“That looks great on you, Aya-chan! You’re as cute as a baby ice golem,” Ako said, giving the idol a thumbs up.

“Thanks, but since I feel as hot as a lava golem, I think I’m going to take this off now.”

“That’s a pity. I guess we need to find something made for moving around and dancing.”

“Yes, I think that’s very important.”

“…Hey, clothes made for battling are usually built for moving, right? How about those?”

Ako grabbed Aya’s hand and dragged her to a rack of idol outfits that looked to be inspired by samurai, complete with bits of armor sewn into them. As they approached, they saw Eve and Maya already wearing some of the outfits.

“Ako-chan, Aya-chan,” Eve called out to them while hugging Maya, “Don’t you think Maya-chan is the cutest?”

“Maya-chan _is_ very cute, but I have to disagree, because Aya-chan is definitely the cutest!” Ako replied, giving her own girlfriend a hug.

Aya laughed nervously.

“How bushido of you, supporting the one you love. But my love for Maya and my sense of Bushido compel me to challenge you to a duel, for the honor of our loves!” Eve said, making a pose that would have fit right in a samurai drama.

As Aya stammered out an unconvincing denial of her relationship with Ako, the young drummer copied a pose from NFO and replied, “With Aya’s honor at stake, there’s no way I’ll lose. The power from my dark stigmata courses through my veins!”

Maya interrupted Ako and Aya by giving the keyboardist a slightly awkward hug.

“These costumes may look battle ready, but they aren’t the stunt versions so we need to be careful with them,” Maya said, “and we still have a job that we’re getting paid for right now.”

“That’s an excellent point. I guess I’ll just have to duel you later, Ako-chan,” said Eve.

“Okay!” Ako replied.

Crisis averted for now, Aya wasted no time in bringing Ako to a different part of the costume storage room. Thinking about Roselia’s general style of outfits, the idol had sought an area with lots of darkly colored clothes.

“What about we search here, Ako-chan? The other members of Roselia might like something that’s not too different from what they usually wear,” Aya suggested.

“Yeah, these clothes are super cool, so I bet they’ll match the super-coolness of Roselia.”

The two of them looked through the many, many outfits, slowly walking down and isle of slightly edgy idol outfits. Suddenly, Ako stopped.

“Aya, do you hear something?” Ako whispered, “Something kinda monster-sounding?”

Aya was about to giggle at her girlfriend’s very active imagination when she heard it. Pained groans and yelps combined with the sounds of sucking and biting. There really was a monster!

“Don’t panic, Ako-chan,” said the panicking Aya, “Let’s just back away and get an adult.”

“Why? This is the moment I’ve been preparing for all my life!”

Before Aya could react, Ako parted the outfits in the costume rack to reveal… Chisato and Hina making out with each other, so absorbed in it that they didn’t notice their new guests.

As soon as she recovered from the shock, Aya put her hands over Ako’s eyes (ignoring the fact that she’d made out with Ako, herself.)

“What are you two doing !?” the vocalist exclaimed.

Startled by Aya’s voice, Chisato attempted to spring away from Hina, falling to the floor because the guitarist refused to let go.

“Aya, this isn’t what it looks like. It… is all a hallucination you’re having,” Chisato said with a smile that was much less composed than her usual.

Hina laughed.

“That’s such a bad lie, Chisato-chan. I mean, I guess Aya-chan might have believed it, though.”

“This is no laughing matter, Hina,” Chisato said, “If a scandal breaks out about our relationship, both of our careers would be at stake.”

“Eh. I don’t really care much about this idol thing anyway, as long as I can play music with you guys. And even if you cant find any movie roles or anything, you can just marry me and become a house-wife,” Hina replied.

Aya pleaded, “Being an idol is really important to _me,_ though, and I really don’t want Pasu Pare to break up, so could you be a bit more careful for my sake, please?”

“Fine, fine,” Hina said in a carefree voice, “We’ll try to pay more attention to people coming. So you and Ako-chan can go ahead and find your own smooching spot since me and Chisato found this one first.”

“Hina! Didn’t I just say we need to be more careful? You’ll have to wait till we get back home today,” Chisato reprimanded.

“Aya-chan, can we make out today when we get home, too?” Ako asked, eyes still being covered.

“We can discuss that later, Ako-chan,” Aya replied, dragging her girlfriend away from her arguing bandmates with haste.

They ended up in a part of the storage room filled with all kinds of animal outfits. Animal ears ranging from dog to bunny to even dragon were all there. Naturally, there were also cat ears, along with Yukina and a blushing and stammering Rinko

“Oh. Ako, Maruyama-san. Perhaps you can help us,” Yukina said, “I don’t understand how one wears this cat tail, and Rinko seems to be having difficulty explaining.”

The cat tail Yukina held had a bulbous part on one end.

“Uh, Aya-chan, the agency doesn’t ever force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, right?” Ako asked, suddenly feeling very concerned about her girlfriend.

“They don’t. But I also didn’t know that the agency made… _that_ kind of content. I’ll be very careful from now on,” Ako replied.

“This outfit… doesn’t seem like it’s been used. It even still has the tag on it. So maybe someone bought it accidentally?” Rinko suggested optimistically.

“Why are you all talking in riddles?” Yukina asked, “If you know how this tail works, just tell me.”

“Uh, basically, it won’t work, Yukina-san. Rinrin, as her girlfriend, it’s your duty to tell her why. Bye-bye, have fun,” Ako said while grabbing Aya’s hand and making a swift tactical retreat.

“So you _do_ know how this works?” Yukina asked Rinko.

“I’ll explain it to you when you’re older, Minato-san,” Rinko replied.

While Yukina just got more and more confused, the couple had decided to look for very normal idol outfits. They eventually found racks full of the clothes of idols Aya looked up to.

“Oh, Ako, Aya,” Lisa called out, wearing one of those outfits. Aya recognized it as being from the uniquely named idol group “George.” Sayo was with her too, wearing a similar outfit and blushing a bright red.

“How cute do you think idol Sayo is?” Lisa asked, bringing an arm around the embarrassed guitarist.

“Sayo-san’s really cute like that! I’d give her a 4/5.”

“Really? Sayo’s a perfect 5/5 if you ask me,” said Lisa, “Who would you give a perfect score to, then?”

“Aya-chan, of course. I give her a perfect 5/7!” Ako exclaimed.

“Udagawa-san, 5/7 is less than 4/5. Do you need me to tutor you in math, too?” Sayo asked in a disappointed voice.

“It’s just a meme. Don’t take it so seriously,” Ako replied.

Aya wasn’t quite sure about the number stuff, but she did understand one thing.

“Ako-chan, you really think my cuteness is perfect?” the idol asked her girlfriend.

“Of course! Whenever I’m watching your lives, you’re super-duper adorable. It makes me want to cuddle you and never let go!” Ako answered.

Aya was happy to let her demonstrate.

“How nice. Sayo, you should be affectionate with me like that, too,” Lisa said.

“I’ve put on shorter and shorter skirts just for you. Isn’t that enough?” Sayo protested.

“I guess it’ll have to do. Try this one on next, then,” Lisa said, holding out an outfit with an even shorter skirt.

As Sayo was dragged off to change, Ako and Aya decided to keep looking through the cute and frilly outfits around them. One of them called out the drummer the moment she saw it. The white and pastel color scheme was much more suited to Pasu Pare’s aesthetics than the chuuni’s, but the two large wings on the back set of Ako’s cool-radar.

“Aya-chan, can I try that one? It looks like it would be super cool!”

Ako looked at the outfit Ako was pointing at and gasped in surprise.

“That’s one of Marmalade’s outfits. They’re the idol group that inspired me to become an idol. I want to try it too!”

With a bit of searching, the pair were able to find the outfits the entire group had worn. They changed quickly and excitedly, and then showed each other how they looked.

“Whoa, you look like and angel, Aya-chan. You’re so pretty!”

“You’re really cute in that, too, Ako-chan. I think these are the outfits for us.”

“Yeah! Maybe we could add some abyss colored bows or something to make it a bit more Roselia-ish, but these are already great.”

The couple went to show the others what they’d found hand-in-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do all my clothes related prompts go in slightly steamy directions? Aya/Ako is a soft and innocent ship that doesn't deserve this nonsense.
> 
> Do I need to raise the rating? My justification for keeping it as it is is: If you don't know what that thing is, this fic won't tell you.
> 
> Also, I only got 4 prompts this time around, so if someone else wants to leave a unique ship on chapter 20, I'll probably do it as long as it follows the rules. I'll be using Bandori rarepair week as an excuse to fill in some of the missing ships with very short stories, though.


	25. [Rarepair Week] MocaAko Pumpkin Spice Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This will be the first in a series of very short chapters written for Bandori rarepair week. I'll be using these to try and cover some of the ships people haven't suggested yet.   
> Ship: Moca/Ako  
> Prompt: Fall

It was the first of November. Ako’s favorite holiday of the year had come to an end. The time for Jack-o’-Lanterns was over. Right now, Ako was using the flesh of the pumpkin she’d carved to make a pie.

And where there were baked goods, there was Moca. Being Ako’s girlfriend was an excellent excuse to grab a slice of pie, and the drummer was happy to have her around.

“You know, you’ve been holding out on Mama Moca,” the guitarist said, hugging Ako from behind as the younger girl worked, “I didn’t know you could bake. You should have baked me a confession bread. Maybe next year you can bake me a Valentine’s day bread.”

“I’ve been learning from Lisa-nee just for Halloween. Actually, the only things I can make are all pumpkin related. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie…”

“So even my dear Ako has fallen to the trend of making pumpkin spice treats during fall. Your hipster cred will take a big hit, you know.”

“Neither my abyssal powers nor my top 10 necromancer rank on NFO cares about hipster cred. I shall hasten the advent of the Jack-o’-Lantern in becoming the new ruler of baked goods. Mwa-ha-ha!”

“And what a tasty advent it is.”

Moca reached out to swipe a bit of the pie filling, but her hand was stopped by Ako’s.

“Oh, sorry Moca-chin, but I kinda underestimated the abyssalness of your stomach. You already ate through my extra Moca portion.”

“You made extra just for lil’ ol’ Moca? I feel so cherished.”

“Well, I wanted this pie to come out perfect, and being your girlfriend, I know that your hunger is like a world devourer’s. You’ll have to wait till the pie is done, though. Sorry Moca-chin.”

“I just can’t help it when the lovely Ako puts so much love into the treats, you know?”

Once Ako was done mixing, she filled a pie crust with the filling she had made. Then, she put it into a preheated oven and set the timer.

“Just an hour to go,” Ako said.

“It’s going to be so tasty in my tummy. But that just makes the wait feel like… to put it in an Akool way, it feels like I’m locked up in the Abyss of Hell.”

That sure wasn’t something Ako wanted her girlfriend to go through. She wondered about how she could satisfy Moca’s sweet tooth.

“Moca-chin, what are your thoughts on pumpkin spice flavored stuff?”

“It’s pretty tasty. Why do you ask?” Moca replied while watching Ako mix together some spices with brown sugar. Was she intending Moca eat a spoonful of straight-up pumpkin spice?

Instead, Ako consumed the mixture herself.

“Here, have a pumpkin spice flavored kiss.”

Ako connected her lips to Moca’s and opened her mouth for her girlfriend. The sweet and slightly spicy taste in Ako’s mouth was scrumptious and Moca explored it even more eagerly than usual.

The couple broke their kiss, panting and enjoying the sweet, lovely aftertaste that lingered.

“You know, Ako-chin, I think my pumpkin spice treat ranking has a new entry at first place.”


	26. [Rarepair week] MayaAko Snare Drum of the Abyss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Maya/Ako  
> Prompt: Shopping

“Oh great and wise Artificer, I beseech thee, lend me your knowledge in seeking a snare drum that’ll strengthen my covenant with my powers of darkness!”

Maya chuckled at Ako’s serious expression. It had taken her a while to understand her girlfriend’s form of speech, but by now she could tell that the fellow drummer wanted help with shopping for a new snare drum. Happy that her geekiness could come in use, she readily agreed.

The two of them walked to the music store hand-in-hand. Maya was thankful as always that she wasn’t the most flashy idol, and her time with her girlfriend would go unnoticed.

As they walked to the drum section of the store, Maya asked, “What sort of sound are you looking for, exactly? Is there something your current snare is lacking?”

“The snare I have right now is already super cool, but sometimes I want something a bit more _bang,_ you know?”

Having an otaku-type personality often came in handy when dating Ako. Maya had observed each and every nuance of Ako’s “bang”s and “cool”s until she could understand exactly what the drummer meant by them. This particular “bang” was deep and guttural, so Ako was probably looking for something with a bit more bass and thump, the idol concluded.

“Well, we’ll probably want a fairly deep snare, then. 8 inches should be ideal, I think.”

“Got it!”

The couple looked through the selection of snare drums, Ako paying especially close attention to the ones which were black or red. After they selected some models to consider, they asked an employee if they could try them out.

“Maya, guess this song,” Ako exclaimed.

The idol listened carefully, trying to figure out which Roselia song had such a simple, light, and upbeat drum line. And then she realized it wasn’t a Roselia song at all.

“Gyuu*Days?” Maya guessed.

“Yeah!”

“Well then, what song is this from?” Maya challenged back, grabbing her own pair of drum sticks and playing Passionate Starmine.

The two tested the snares out like that, playing each other’s songs, until Ako had settled on two models.

“Hmm, this one had more _bang!_ but the other one is more abyssal. What do you think I should do, Maya-chan?”

“You’re talking about how this snare is lower pitched, right? We could change the tension and mess around a bit to get the same pitch with the louder snare.”

So, Ako bought a bright red snare and they went to the Roselia drummer’s house. Maya quickly loosened the lugs around the drum, doing her best to make sure the tension was even all around the head, and then set the snare up in Ako’s stand.

“Try it out,” Maya said, then listened carefully as Ako played some riffs and a drum roll.

“This sounds super cool!” Ako exclaimed, “But it might get in the way of Roselia’s sound if there’s all this hellish moaning.”

She must have been talking about the overtones.

“That’s not hard to fix,” Maya replied, “Do you have a piece of paper lying around?”

Maya rejected Ako’s homework, and instead looked around Ako’s drawers to find a school notification from three years ago. She placed in on the drumhead.

“Try it now,” Maya said.

Ako played through a song, then set down her drumsticks and wrapped her arms around Maya.

“You really are an amazing artificer, not only with the knowledge to hunt down artifacts of power but also the skill to perfect them!” the younger girl exclaimed.

“It’s nothing nearly that special. I like shopping for and setting up drums, is all.”

“I still want to reward you for your Elder Wisdom.”

“Well… How about a kiss?”

It was a reward Ako was happy to give.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People making fun of Americans for not using metric: Like, what is an inch even? And why do they have twelve of them in a foot?  
> Drummers around the world dealing with freedom units on all their gear: Ha ha yeah... *hide_the_pain_harold.jpg*
> 
> I'm not a drummer so apologies for any inaccuracies. Also, I know a common method for low-tuning a snare is to loosen some lugs and leave others tight, but my research said that you can't leave a drum that way for very long, so I figured that Maya would go the safer route.


	27. [Rarepair week] ArisaAko Countdown to Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Arisa/Ako  
> Prompt: Soulmates  
> This uses the soulmates have timers until they meet each others thing. I'm not quite sure who invented the idea, but it definitely wasn't me.

When Arisa had realized her soulmate countdown would reach zero during the Roselia concert her friends wanted to watch, she’d been a little tempted to simply not go. But Arisa supposed she’d be meeting her soulmate either way, so she decided to tell Popipa about it and head to the concert with them anyway.

The live house was very crowded, much more that it was for Popipa’s shows. If Arisa _was_ one of those girls who’d been waiting their whole life to meet their soulmates, she’d probably have agonized over how to find her in this sea of followers. She wasn’t one of those people, though.

Not that she’d have to worry even if she was. Once the band had got on stage, and the timer on Arisa’s wrist hit zero, the singer announced, “Hello everyone. I hope you’re all fully devoted. Before we start with out usual songs, Ako has an announcement.”

“Kukuku,” the drummer spoke into her mike, “As I walked onto the stage, my clock of soul bonding reached its end. To my fated, who stands in the audience of our infernal mass, I dedicate this song to you! Passionate Starmine!”

As she listened to the song, Arisa appreciated that her soulmate had excellent drumming skills and a pretty voice. Still, she was apprehensive. First of all, the way the drummer spoke was… a little bit edgy. It might have reminded Arisa of when she had thought her hands had contained the power of a plant demon, if she had ever been through such a phase. And the smile on the Roselia member’s face looked all too similar to Kasumi’s. How would Arisa deal with yet another chaotic person in her life?

Well, given that Arisa’s life had gotten much brighter since Kasumi had entered it, and this Ako girl was her soulmate, probably really well. But still, why couldn’t her soulmate have been someone quiet and serious like Sayo or Rinko?

Arisa tried to put it out of mind and enjoy the concert. It was pretty easy to do with how amazing Roselia was. But eventually, the band finished their encore, and it was time for Arisa to figure out what she should do about her soulmate.

“You can do it, Arisa!” Kasumi encouraged.

“Thanks, but I’m not sure that someone as energetic as her would like someone as quiet as me. Or that I can deal with someone like her,” Arisa replied.

“You’re talking about Ako, right,” Saaya said, “She and her sister come by the bakery pretty often. She’s into demons and darkness and stuff, but other than that, she’s a pretty good girl. Just be honest with her and I’m sure she’ll do her best to make you happy.”

“…Well, I guess there’s no use putting it off.”

With Popipa’s support, Arisa walked to the backstage area.

“Ichigaya-san, right? Do you have business with the band?” The guitarist, Sayo, asked as the nervous keyboardist approached.

“Uh, well, my soulmate timer hit zero right as the concert started, so I think I may be… Well, I guess I have no proof, but if you would allow it, I’d like to meet…

“You wish to meet Udagawa-san, correct? Don’t worry; no one else has come to ask about it, so I believe you. Besides, aside from your spotty attendance record, you seem like a very trustworthy person. Wait here, I’ll get her for you.”

Sayo went into the backstage area, and Arisa’s soulmate popped out. She greeted Arisa with a hug.

“Kukuku… greetings my bonded one! Let us become as abyssally close as shadows and, uh… darkness?”

Arisa didn’t know how to react. If this was indeed the girl she was fated to spend the rest of her life with, she’d have to look through the memories of the dark past she’d locked away just to understand her. And then there was the hug. Arisa still wasn’t used to physical contact with strangers. But since this was Arisa’s soulmate, it would have been rude to deny her, right?

Suddenly, the drummer, Ako, let go.

“Oh, sorry. Um, are you uncomfortable with hugging? Sayo-san says I should be more considerate about how other people feel about that,” Ako said.

“N-no, that’s okay. I-I’m Ichigaya Arisa,” the keyboardist replied, not really sure what to say.

“I’m Udagawa Ako! What are your hobbies?”

Should Arisa say something that this girl – Ako would think was cool? No, Ako was her soulmate. She had to be honest.

“I like to take care of bonsai trees,” Arisa said simply. There was no way her soulmate was interested in that sort of thing.

“Bonsai? Those are pretty cute,” Ako replied cheerfully, “Like trees that have been hit by a tiny-troll’s shrink breath.”

Tiny trolls with shrink breath? Did Ako play… actually, the more Arisa thought about it, the more sense it made.

“Do you happen to play NFO by any chance?” the keyboardist asked.

“Yeah! My username is xXxDemonPrincessAkoHimexXx.”

So Roselia’s Ako was _that_ Ako, the legend who had reached top ten despite using the low tier necromancer class.

“Do you have any tips for getting past the Water Temple of the Four Mermaids? I keep getting stuck in the underwater section.

“You play NFO too? That’s so cool! What’s your username? I have some tips, but it’ll be easier to show you by playing together. Se can try to do a run tonight!”

And so, despite her worries, Arisa spend the first night after meeting her soulmate talking to her all night long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though it's not NFO day yet, there's already NFO. Well, that's just how writing for Ako goes, I guess.


	28. [Rarepair week] KanonAko Winterhold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Kanon/Ako  
> Prompt: Crossover
> 
> Specifically, a Skyrim crossover. This might not be all that interesting if you haven't played that game, unfortunately.

Kanon shivered, surrounded by nothing but white. She knew that going to visit a nearby Dwemer ruin alone was a bad idea, but she had research to do and no one else was free. Amazingly, she had actually gotten the ruin just fine, but she’d gotten a bit disoriented when leaving and now she had no clue where the College of Winterhold was.

Adding to Kanon’s anxiety was the approaching clip-clop of a horse. Thinking optimistically, it could be a travelling merchant who could guide her to where she needed to go. Or, it could be a bandit who would happily murder her to take her stuff. Kanon knew Flames, but she’d learned the basic spell more for keeping warm than for fighting. Other than that, she’d mostly focused on restoration magic. Healing and wards would keep her alive for a while, sure, but she wouldn’t win a fight with those alone.

And then, the horse crested the hill and entered Kanon’s vision. It was far more terrifying than the mage could have imagined. The horse had no skin or flesh on its black skeleton, and blue fire emanated from its body. The rider was a small girl who wore the unmistakable robes of a vampire noble, though her eyes lacked the sinister orange glow all vampires had, instead the bright red of a flawless ruby. Well, Kanon was going to die here, but at least her blood wouldn’t be sucked, probably.

The horse quickly galloped towards Kanon, who tried to run away. The horse was fast and Kanon… wasn’t. It wasn’t long before the almost Daedric looking horse and its rider were upon her.

“Kukuku… to meet another follower of Julianos is this white void… it must be fate. With those robes, you’re from the College of Winterhold, right?” the girl asked.

“Y-yes,” Kanon replied nervously, “I’m a professor of restoration.”

“The power to snatch a soul right out of Arkay’s hand! That’s so cool! I’m trying to get to the college myself. Is this the right way?”

“I… don’t know. I’m a bit lost myself. Um, are you looking to become a student at the college?”

“Yeah! I wanna get super good at necromancy!”

“Um, the College of Winterhold _does_ allow necromancy, but it’s not the most popular field of magic in Skyrim, so maybe you should keep quiet about that?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m the dragonborn so people are pretty helpful and nice.”

“Dragonborn?”

Like the ones in Nord myths? Was this girl… maybe not completely sane? Not that there was anything wrong with that. She knew plenty of great mages at the College that lacked sanity.

“Yeah,” replied the horse rider, “I can show you. Fus.”

With a single word, the girl sent a small shockwave through the air, kicking up snow and shaking Dwemer gadgets. The professor knew about the Greybeards and their Way of the Voice, but the casual way this girl used her power was very different. Maybe Kanon was the one going crazy.

“Fuee…”

“I’m Udagawa Ako, by the way,” the apparent dragonborn said cheerfully, “If you’re lost, wanna hop on my horse? We can go to the College of Winterhold together!”

“Uh, okay.”

Kanon didn’t really have any other options, and this girl definitely seemed friendly enough. Helped by the small but strong Ako, the mage hesitantly got on the skeleton horse. Thankfully, the fire was the magic non-burning kind. The dragonborn got Kanon to put her arms around her, and they were off.

“You know,” Ako said, “I was already excited to go to the College of Winterhold, but knowing there’s a cute, pretty, and cool professor like you there makes me even more excited!”

“I’m happy we’ll have such a strong and cute new student around, too.”

Kanan knew that there would likely be more skeletons around from now on, but the Ako herself was very cute indeed. And she was nice and friendly, too! A rarity in the students the College tended to attract. Even if Ako focused on conjuration while she focused on restoration, the professor wondered if their research would ever connect. Maybe the embalming methods of Dragur?

Whatever the case may be, Kanon was looking forward to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kanon, first meeting Ako: What an enthusiastic new student. As long as she makes sure to practice necromancy responsibly, I'm sure she'll be lovely to have around.  
> Kanon, with the new Archmage of the College of Winterhold and Savior of Skyrim at the Temple of Mara in Riften: Fueee......
> 
> Not much shipping in the fic itself, unfortunately. That's just how it goes sometimes I guess.


	29. [Rarepair week] MisakiAko Can Love Bloom on the Battlefield?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Misaki/Ako  
> Prompt: NFO

When Misaki decided to take up video games as a way to destress, she told herself it would just be a casual thing. Just beating up some slimes as a werebear barbarian every now and then to vent some of her frustrations.

Instead, Misaki was doing end-game raids on a max level character, assister by some of her NFO playing friends and acquaintances. It wasn’t going well for her. The only thing between her wounded character and certain death were the skeletons Ako kept summoning between her and the mass of monsters. That wouldn’t be enough, though. The barbarian had been hit by one of the Venom Dragon Boss’ poisonous claws, and her health was quickly ticking down.

Tired, sleepy, and fueled by mostly energy drinks, Misaki yelled melodramatically into the voicechat, “Don’t waste your skeletons on me, Ako, just let me die!”

“No Misaki! We’ll get through this together. And then we’ll celebrate in the treasure room. Just wait for Sayo’s healing surge!”

“My health won’t hold until it gets off of cooldown. This is the end more me, but it doesn’t have to be the end for you. Focus your skeletons on the boss!”

Misaki’s health was in the single digits now. Maybe it was sleep deprivation. Maybe it was the feeling of coming so far just to die at the very end. Maybe it was because of the acting lessons Kaoru had put her through. But whatever made her do it, Misaki couldn’t help but yell:

“Before I go, I just want to tell you, I love you Ako!”

And then, as Ako yelled her Misaki’s name, the werebear’s health hit zero and she was back at the entrance of the dungeon.

It didn’t take too long for the rest of the party to defeat the boss. Ako gave her the axe she’d picked up in the loot, too, so it wasn’t a total waste of time for Misaki. With school in about four hours, the DJ logged off and went to bed.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

As Misaki groggily opened the door to start walking to school, she was met by the unexpected sight of Ako waiting for her.

“Uh, don’t take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here, Ako? Don’t you like, like, pretty far away?” Misaki asked.

Much too cheerily for someone who’d spent all night gaming, Ako replied, “Now that we’re girlfriends, I’m here to walk you to school!”

Girlfriends?

“You know, when you confessed to me on NFO yesterday, I was kinda surprised, but also really happy. It was like something out of a movie?”

Oh.

Misaki wondered how to clear up the misunderstanding. But her gaming buddy seemed so excited… well, maybe she could figure something out while they walked. Even if Ako insisted on holding hands and that was proving to be _very_ distracting.

Eventually, they reached the halfway point between their schools, with Misaki still having no idea what she should do.

“Well, I guess your school is that way, so this is when we split up,” Misaki said.

“Okay. I’ll see you after school. If you’re free, we can go on a date! But for now…”

Ako stood on her tiptoes to give Misaki a peck on the lips, then walked off.

As she stood there, stunned, Misaki wondered if there was any need to clear up the misunderstanding at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Putting the short in short story
> 
> Most people looking at the rarepair week prompt list: What a wide variety of prompts to choose from.
> 
> Me, an Gamer: Ah, these prompts all say it's time for gaming.
> 
> Well, this prompt was actually about video games for once.


	30. [Rarepair week] SaayaAko Date as Blind as a Bat that Lives in the Abyss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Saaya/Ako  
> Prompt: Blind date

Saaya had never thought of herself as the kind of girl separate for love. Even after Kasumi and Arisa, and then Rimi and Tae, had gotten together, she found herself perfectly content being the “mom friend” and watching the others enjoy romance.

But the rest of Popipa was determined not to allow Saaya to become a fifth wheel. They’d insisted that she deserved a girlfriend of her own. After the drummer declined Kasumi’s invitation to join her and Arisa’s relationship, they’d decided to start setting her up on blind dates.

Saaya didn’t mind. They were all with girls she knew and was friendly with, so even if she hadn’t gotten a girlfriend out of it yet, it was nice to spend time with friends. She wondered who this week’s date would be.

Said date showed up to Hazawa coffee, where they’d agreed to meet, wearing her best. Her best just so happened to suit a Halloween party more than a date, but considering who it was, Saaya couldn’t expect any less.

“Kukuku… so the one who fate has bonded me to today is none other than the princess of, um… hellfire broiled wheat!”

“Hi, Ako. I’m a little surprised to see you. I didn’t realize you were looking for a girlfriend.”

“Actually, this was supposed to be onee-chan’s blind date, but she got sick. She was going to cancel, but I knew that there was a girl out there who needed cherishing, so I decided to take her place!”

“Haha, have you been talking to Seta-senpai?”

Well, this wasn’t going to be the most romantic of dates but spending time with Ako was definitely going to be fun.

“Yeah. Actually, I got some tips from Kaoru for the date, too,” Ako said, walking over to sit on Saaya’s lap, facing her.

She put one of her slightly rough hands under Saaya’s chin. Ako drew her face closer to the other drummers, looking just a little like a vampire lordess with her bright red eyes.

As Saaya accepted the very nice kiss Ako gave her, she realized that this might be the _most_ romantic blind date she’d go on.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

Ako had said she’d love to take Saaya wherever she wanted to go, so Saaya said she wanted to go to the arcade. Part of that was out of consideration for Ako’s interests, but the bigger part was nostalgia. When she was younger, she’d gone to the arcade with the Udagawa sisters pretty often, and it might have just been the rosy tint of memories, but she remembered enjoying it every time. Back then, it hadn’t been unheard of for Saaya to win a game against Ako, but she had a feeling that would no longer be true.

“What sort of games do you want to play, Saaya?” Ako asked, “Since we’re drummers, rhythm games are a natural fit, right?”

“Those sound fun, but right now, I want to play one of those, uh, martial arts games.”

“Fighting games? We used to play those all the time together, didn’t we. Let me show you a new one that I really like!”

The two started by having a match each other. Back in the say, Saaya put up a pretty decent fight against Ako. This time, she lost even quicker than she expected to, barely able to get even a single punch in.

“Hmm… I guess you wouldn’t know how to combo in a game you just played for the first time. Let me show you!”

“Okay,” Saaya replied. This wasn’t quite how their trips to the arcade had gone in the past, but Ako seemed confident, and she was looking forward to making new memories with her.

“So, to practice, it’s probably best to fight a low-level CPU. Start the match, and I’ll show you what moves can chain into each other.”

Ako’s “showing” involver her standing right behind Saaya, pressing into her back to see the screen, and helping her perform attacks by holding and guiding the baker’s hands. The contact felt nice, but was also very distracting, so even after they beat the final boss, Saaya couldn’t say she’d learnt much about the game.

“Do you want to play a rhythm game now? Maybe one of those dancing ones?” Saaya suggested.

“Sure!”

With them both being drummers, both of their scores were pretty high for people who hadn’t played the game much. By the end of the first song, though, Ako was panting.

“Why don’t you take that coat off?” Saaya asked, a bit concerned about her date’s health.

“It looks really cool, but I guess I don’t want to melt in hell’s heat… If only I could be like Roadman Shaq…”

Saaya didn’t expect that under her slightly ridiculous (and slightly handsome) coat, Ako was wearing a tank top that showed off her arms. Which was how most of the gamer’s casual clothes were, but with Saaya starting to look at her in a different way, and the slight sheen of sweat that covered her smooth skin…

Ako would attribute her victory to “freeing herself from the corrupting chains of fashion.” Saaya wouldn’t disagree with her, despite the discrepancy in their scores being more from Saaya’s going down than Ako’s going up.

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

After their time at the arcade, Saaya found herself going to Ako’s house. This was the first blind date she’d been on that she’d done this, but the baker had been to the Udagawa residence enough times in the past that it didn’t feel strange at all. They stopped at Tomoe’s room before going to Ako’s.

“Hi Tomoe. Ako and I brought you some stuff from the convenience store. I hope you get well soon,” Saaya greeted.

“Oh, Saaya. You were supposed to be my date today? Man, now I’m really sad I couldn’t go,” Tomoe replied.

“Yeah, it’s a real pity,” Ako agreed, “Saaya is super cool and fun. Anyway, make sure to get a lot of rest, onee-chan. Saaya, let’s go to my room to make out.”

By the time Tomoe had processed what her sister had just said, her room was empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of RIPs today  
> 1\. Rip Tomoe. This would have been a SaayaTomo fic if she hadn't gotten sick  
> 2\. Rip the concise impactfulness of the first section of this fic, which would have been the whole thing if I didn't decide to expand it to keep using the gaming theme I talked about the the last authors notes  
> 3\. Rip my Morfonica first live livestream, which won't start. Hopefully I'll be able to watch the archive at the very least. Instead, this got typed up slightly earlier than it would have.
> 
> Please send thoughts and prayers.


	31. [Rarepair week] Chu^2Ako Chiptunes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Chu^2Ako  
> Prompt:   
> [None, since it's free day]

When Chu2 had first found out that Lock was classmates and friends with Roselia’s drummer, she’d been a little angry that the girl was fraternizing with the enemy. But then she realized that this was a chance. A chance to learn her rival’s secrets. So the producer had getting Rokka to invite Ako to RAS’ studio.

The drummer had accepted pretty readily, apparently, and now Chu2 was showing Ako around. How naïve, the producer thought to herself, what if this had been some kind of trap? Not that it was, though.

“Wow, Chu2, this place is amazing. All this fancy equipment is super-cool! It’s like the opulence of Mammon.”

Had Chu2 just been insulted, compared to a demon of greed? With how chipper Ako was, it was really hard to tell.

“If RAS is going to reach the top, then we’re going to need the top equipment,” Chu2 replied neutrally, “These are the drums I have Masking use. As you can see, they’re expertly set up and mic’d.”

But rather than the drums, it was something else that caught Ako’s eye.

“Is that an old Gameboy?” the drummer asked, looking at a device that was connected to a MIDI keyboard.

“Oh, that? I’m experimenting with adding some old game sounds to some of our songs. A lot of our fans seem to like that kind of thing, for whatever reason.”

“That’s so cool! Can I hear?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

Chu2 took a moment to make sure all the wires were connected, then turned on the Gameboy and keyboard. She played a couple of random notes to demonstrate.

“Can I try, too?” Ako eagerly asked.

“Go ahead.”

Chu2 was pleased to discover that Ako wasn’t any better at keyboard than her. The drummer clumsily attempted to play the Super Mario theme, missing a few notes here and there, but still close enough to be recognizable.

“It would be so cool if Rinrin could play something like this…” Ako wondered out loud.

Could it be that instead of finding out about Roselia’s secrets, Chu2 had accidently revealed some of RAS’?

“It’s too bad you need a keyboard,” the drummer continued, “I wish there was something like this for the drums.”

“Well, there _are_ MIDI drum kits. Maybe we could connect one to the noise channel?”

“Can we try?” Ako pleaded. Chu2 was very weak to being respected, so she quickly agreed.

It wasn’t quite as Chu2 hoped it would be, requiring a computer and some very specific software in addition to the drum kit, keyboard adapter, and Gameboy. Long nights spent searching for the most obscure of NFO builds and exploits had made Ako an expert googler, and she was a bigger help than Chu2 expected. Somehow, they were able to put something together.

“Alright, why don’t you play something?” Chu2 asked, eager to see if the mess of wires they’d made would work, and maybe also just a bit excited to hear Ako play.

Ako got right to playing the drum part of Fire Bird. It sounded a little like one of those 8-bit remixes Chu2 had seen floating around on the internet.

“Fufufu… it’s like I’ve been reborn into an old video game, a world of pixelated magic and adventure!” Ako exclaimed.

“It’s pretty cool,” Chu2 admitted, “In fact, it’s giving me some ideas for a new song. Do you mind if I record you for a bit playing some simple drum lines?”

“Yea! And maybe you could join in and rap.”

By the end of their jam session, Chu2 had collected a bunch of Roselia’s drummer’s drumming to use in her own projects. In the end, though, it felt wrong to use an outside drummer for RAS. More valuable was the experience of setting up the MIDI drums like this so that Masking could record some video game-like parts of her own later.

But perhaps the most valuable memory Chu2 would get that day was that of the hug Ako gave her as she left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pareo: Did you enjoy your date, Chuchu-sama?  
> Chu^2: It wasn't a date!.. But maybe the next time can be one...
> 
> TFW it's free day but you still can't actually fit the shipping in your actual story.


	32. TaeAko If you Wanna Be My Lover You Gotta Get With My (boy)Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Tae/Ako  
> Prompt: they bonded over Tae's bunnies

It had started when she’d ran into Tae playing guitar on the street while she was on her way home from Roselia practice one day. Stopping to chat had turned into putting out her snare drum to jam, and then to meeting Tae every week to practice together. Now, Ako wanted to take their relationship one step further, from friends to girlfriends.

But Ako was no homewrecker. She knew that before she could date Tae, there was someone she needed to ask.

“Oddie, I know this is impudent coming from a lowly being such as me, but I wave come to plead that you allow me to join your and Tae’s relationship.”

The rabbit blinked.

“Oddie doesn’t know you well enough yet,” Tae explained, “A polyamorous relationship has to be built upon trust between all three members, So Oddie suggests that we all go to the park. It’ll be like a pre-date.”

“Understood, Oddie. I’ll cherish you on this date just as much as I cherish Tae! Um, do you usually wear a collar or harness or something?”

“Nah, Oddie’s not into that kinda stuff. I usually just pick him up, but since I know Oddie well enough already, today you should be the one to carry him.”

Oddie was a very obedient rabbit, so Ako was able to get him into her arms with minimal help from Tae. The drummer thought for a moment, then lifted her hands and placed the rabbit on her head.

“I’m not as tall as Tae, so I can’t show you the world as well as she can,” Ako said, “but I’ll still do my best.”

Tae nodded approvingly at her boyfriend and prospective girlfriend together.

“Oddie appreciates that you’re trying your best. I think he’d also appreciate how cute you two look right now, so let’s stop at a mirror before we go to the park.”

=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=

“Where should we go first, Oddie?” Ako asked the rabbit on her head.

“Oddie says we should go to the playground,” Tae replied in his stead.

“I didn’t know rabbits liked human playsets.”

“Oddie does. But more importantly, this is a test of trust. You must keep Oddie safe through the three challenges of swinging, sliding, and monkey bar crossing.

“Roger!” Ako said while saluting.

Using the swing set proved an easy enough task; Ako just had to hold Oddie’s soft, fluffy body tight. Sliding was similar. The drummer just had to keep the warm, cute rabbit close to her body and keep him on top of her.

The money bars, however, were a real challenge. With her arms both busy, Ako would have to keep Oddie carefully balanced on her head. That meant going slow. And on the money bars, going slow just made it that much harder.

Every bit of Ako’s drummer muscles was strained to its limit. But Ako wouldn’t – couldn’t – let go. Because letting go meant failing Oddie, and failing Oddie meant not dating Tae. And that was even worse a fate than losing her NFO account.

So, despite her arms feeling like they were being consumer by hellfire, Ako persevered. Slowly, steadily, bar-by-bar, the drummer got to the other end of the monkey bars.

Once she was back on the ground, Ako collapsed into Tae’s waiting arms.

“Good job, Ako,” Tae said, “Oddie is proud of you. We’ll give you a massage now.”

Ako lied down in the sandbox, trusting one of her arms to her hopefully girlfriend, and her other to her hopefully boyfriend. Tae seemed to have experience with this sort of thing, squeezing the soreness out of the drummer’s arms. Oddie… just crawled up and down Ako’s other arm, but that felt nice in its own way.

“Where do you want to go next, Oddie?” Ako asked the rabbit currently sniffing her hand.

“Now that we’ve done something exciting, Oddie wants to do something relaxing. So let’s go to the wooded area and try Zen meditation,” Tae replied for him

“I didn’t know you knew how to do Zen meditation, Tae.”

“I bugged Arisa about it, and she eventually gave me a book. Oddie has been wanting to try it out.”

Tae helped Ako got back up, placed Oddie back on her head, and guided her into the trees. Once she had found a suitable spot, the guitarist sat down, directing her prospective girlfriend to do the same.

“The important thing about Zen meditation is freeing yourself from your mind,” Tae explained, “so close your eyes and clear your head of thoughts.”

One of those commands was very easy to follow. The other was not. The more Ako tried to eliminate thoughts, the more she got hung up on the thought of eliminating thoughts. Maybe she should distract herself with something else. Like how pretty Tae was. That was a very easy thought to get lost in. Tae’s emerald eyes. Her silky black hair. How fun it was to hang out with her. How nice she was –

Suddenly, Ako’s back was slapped hard. The drummer’s hands flew up to her head just in time to keep Oddie from falling as she flinched.

“You were getting distracted,” Tae said.

“Oh. Sorry for letting you down, Tae, Oddie.”

“It’s okay. Oddie was getting distracted, too. Probably by how cute you are. But for now, I think this is as far beginners like you two will get. Why don’t we have a snack by the late?”

The three of them relocated to a bench by the water. Tae brought out two loaves of the finest Yamabuki bakery bread for her and Ako, and a bowl of cut up carrots for them to feed Oddie. The sun was setting, painting the sky and water in warm oranges and pinks.

“You know, this feels pretty romantic,” Ako said, “If we were already girlfriends, it would have been a pretty nice time to kiss.”

Tae picked up Oddie and whispered into his ear. The rabbit blinked.

“You’ve really impressed Oddie today. He said he accepts you into our relationship. And that it’s okay to kiss me right now if you want.”

“Woohoo!”

Ako kissed her new girlfriend enthusiastically while she petted her new boyfriend’s head, all under the sunset’s brilliant glow. 

**Notes in the body of the fic to get one (1) meme to work right.**

Reminder that the only cannon Bandori ship is TaeOddie.

I know the prompt said bunnies plural, but this silly idea entered my head and I decided to go with it.

Also, with this,

If I'd done this before RAS and Morfonica were released, I'd be able to use that mission complete meme. Also, I said I'd take 5 prompts, of which I've done four, so if someone wants to leave a prompt on chapter 20, I'll do it. After that, I'll be taking a break to work on other stuff and get more familiar with Morfonica


End file.
